Admitted that he fabricated a story

FBI informant accused of lying about Bidens agrees to plead guilty

Alexander Smirnov admitted that he fabricated a story about a scheme to bribe Joe and Hunter Biden.

By Josh Gerstein

A former FBI informant charged with fabricating corruption allegations about President Joe Biden and his son has agreed to plead guilty to four felony charges to resolve two pending federal criminal cases against him, according to a court filing.

Alexander Smirnov, 44, admitted to lying when he told the FBI that he took part in meetings with executives from Ukrainian energy company Burisma in 2015 or 2016 about a scheme to pay $10 million to Joe and Hunter Biden. Joe Biden was the vice president at the time of the fabricated meetings, and Smirnov claimed the purported payments were bribes to “protect us … from all kinds of problems,” according to a plea agreement filed Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles.

Smirnov also admitted falsely claiming to have had a conversation with an official at Burisma, where Hunter Biden served on the board. Smirnov falsely alleged that the Burisma official said it would take 10 years for investigators to find records of the purported payments to Joe Biden, the plea agreement said.

Smirnov agreed to plead guilty to one count of obstruction of justice and three tax evasion charges. He reached the deal with special counsel David Weiss, who began investigating allegations against Hunter Biden during President Donald Trump’s first term and was allowed to continue the probe after Joe Biden came into office.

Smirnov could face four to six years in prison, according to the plea agreement.

Smirnov, who was arrested in February and has been in custody since, was facing a jury trial in Los Angeles next month on charges of obstruction and providing false information to the FBI. He had asked for the trial to be postponed until April, but U.S. District Judge Otis Wright had not yet ruled on that request.

Wright, an appointee of President George W. Bush, did not immediately set a date to take Smirnov’s guilty plea or to sentence him.

Trump has leveled corruption allegations against the Bidens similar to those Smirnov has now admitted to fabricating. After Trump’s inauguration in January, he would have the power to end the prosecution of Smirnov, pardon him outright or commute any sentence Wright may impose.

Smirnov’s plea deal suggests the tenure of Weiss, who was given special counsel status by Attorney General Merrick Garland in August 2023, is nearing its conclusion.

Weiss brought two criminal cases against Hunter Biden: One for various tax crimes and the other related to his purchase of a gun while addicted to drugs. The younger Biden pleaded guilty to the tax crimes and was convicted by a jury of the gun-related crimes, but earlier this month, Joe Biden issued an unusually broad pardon for his son, breaking his repeated promise that he would not grant his son any clemency.