House Republicans demand info from FBI about Alexander Smirnov, informant charged with lying about Bidens
CBSN
Washington — House Republicans on Friday demanded information from the FBI about a confidential source now charged with lying about purported bribes accepted by President Biden and his son, an allegation that GOP lawmakers used as one justification for opening an impeachment inquiry into the president.
Alexander Smirnov, 43, served as a confidential FBI source for 14 years before he was charged and arrested last month for allegedly lying to federal investigators in 2020. Prosecutors said he fabricated a claim that an executive at a Ukrainian energy company told him in 2015 or 2016 that the firm paid the Bidens bribes of $5 million each.
An FBI document memorializing his claims became the subject of a bitter back-and-forth between congressional Republicans and the FBI last summer. The bureau resisted GOP lawmakers' calls to hand over the document, known as an FD-1023, saying that doing so could compromise a valuable source. The FBI eventually allowed some lawmakers to review the record, and Republicans trumpeted the bribery allegations as evidence of wrongdoing by the president. The GOP-led House voted to formalize an impeachment inquiry against Mr. Biden in December.
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