A former informant for the FBI, who fabricated a narrative involving President Joe Biden and his son Hunter regarding alleged bribes, received a six-year prison sentence on Wednesday.
Alexander Smirnov entered a guilty plea last month in a Los Angeles federal court for charges related to tax evasion and for misleading the FBI regarding a falsified bribery scheme. Prosecutors indicated that his actions aimed to sway the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Smirnov, who holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Israel, falsely reported to his FBI handler that executives from Burisma, a Ukrainian energy firm, had paid then-Vice President Biden and Hunter Biden each $5 million in around 2015.
His sensational claim emerged in 2020 after he expressed biases against Joe Biden’s candidacy, as per the prosecutors. Investigators, however, found that Smirnov had only routine business relations with Burisma commencing in 2017, well after Biden’s tenure as vice president had concluded.
The prosecutors highlighted that Smirnov’s misleading assertion ignited significant controversy within Congress when it was revisited during the House’s impeachment inquiry targeting President Biden, who defeated Republican Donald Trump in the 2020 election. The Biden administration characterized the impeachment inquiry as merely a political stunt.
Prior to Smirnov’s apprehension, Republican lawmakers had called for the FBI to disclose unredacted documents regarding the now-debunked claims, despite acknowledging the inability to verify their authenticity.
In court documents, the Justice Department’s special counsel, David Weiss, asserted that Smirnov’s criminal activities amounted to a betrayal of the United States, a nation that granted him generous opportunities, including citizenship. They condemned his actions as an affront to the trust placed in him to act as a truthful confidential informant.
Smirnov will receive credit for the time spent in custody since his arrest last February, in relation to the accusations of untruthfulness to the FBI. In November, prosecutors lodged additional tax-related charges, claiming he concealed millions earned from 2020 to 2022.
His legal team sought a three to four-year sentence, emphasizing the “substantial assistance” he had provided over more than a decade as an FBI informant. They also raised concerns about his serious health issues affecting his vision, arguing that a lengthy prison term would exacerbate his suffering.
Attorneys Richard Schonfeld and David Chesnoff pleaded with the court, stating, “Mr. Smirnov has learned a very grave lesson and assures this Honorable Court that he will not find himself on this side of the law again.”
The prosecution of Smirnov was led by Weiss, who has also pursued charges against Hunter Biden related to firearms and taxes. Hunter Biden is set to be sentenced in December after being found guilty in a gun-related trial and pleading guilty to tax offenses but was later granted a pardon by President Biden. The president indicated that he believed political motivations had tainted this process, resulting in what he deemed a miscarriage of justice.
In their appeal for a reduced sentence, Smirnov’s lawyers highlighted that both Hunter Biden and former President Trump, who faced separate federal charges, have not faced any significant consequences.
Special counsel Jack Smith concluded the two federal cases against Trump that addressed accusations of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results and mishandling classified documents after Trump won the presidential race against Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
