In a new court filing on Tuesday, prosecutors stated that the former FBI informant charged with lying about the Bidens’ dealings in Ukraine told investigators after his arrest that Russian intelligence officials were involved in passing information to him about Hunter Biden. They emphasized that this information was false.
Prosecutors also mentioned that Alexander Smirnov has been “actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections” after meeting with Russian spies late last year. They added that the repercussions from his previous false bribery accusations about the Bidens “continue to be felt to this day.”
Prosecutors stated in the filing that Smirnov claims to have “extensive and extremely recent” contacts with foreign intelligence officials. They further mentioned that he had previously informed the FBI about his longstanding and extensive contacts with Russian spies.
This includes individuals he identified as high-level intelligence officers or commanding Russian assassins abroad. On Tuesday, prosecutors from special counsel David Weiss’ team stated that Smirnov had maintained those ties.
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They said that during a post-arrest interview last week, “Smirnov admitted that officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story about Businessperson 1,” referring to President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
The revelations about Smirnov’s alleged foreign contacts were disclosed as part of prosecutors’ arguments to keep him jailed ahead of trial. A federal judge later granted Smirnov’s release with several conditions, including GPS monitoring and surrendering his two passports. Smirnov declined to answer questions as he left the courthouse Tuesday evening.
Prosecutors alleged that Smirnov “claims to have contacts with multiple foreign intelligence agencies,” including in Russia. They argued that he could use those contacts to flee the United States.
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The explosive revelation comes amid backlash over how Smirnov’s now-debunked allegations played into House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into the president. Smirnov has been charged with lying to the FBI and creating false records. He has not yet entered a formal plea, and his lawyers told CNN in a statement, “Mr. Smirnov is presumed innocent.”
According to the new court filing, Smirnov told investigators he was in contact with “four different Russian officials,” all of whom are “top officials” and two of whom “are the heads of the entities they represent.”
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Prosecutors did not independently verify in the filing whether Smirnov’s reported contacts were legitimate or whether the Russians provided him with disinformation about the Bidens.
The false information Smirnov reported ‘was not trivial,’ prosecutors wrote. ‘It targeted the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties in the United States.
The effects of Smirnov’s false statements and fabricated information continue to be felt to this day,’ prosecutors said, making an apparent reference to the turmoil in Congress over the discredited bribery allegations – which were a key element of the GOP impeachment probe.
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