Republican congressmen Jim Jordan and James Comer have demanded that the FBI provide documents related to a discredited informant whose claims formed the basis of their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. The informant, Alexander Smirnov, was charged last month with making false statements to federal agents after 14 years as an FBI source.
Prosecutors allege that Smirnov fabricated claims that a Ukrainian energy firm paid bribes to Hunter Biden and his father. The lawmakers, who chair the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, expressed concerns about the FBI's vetting of confidential sources in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Smirnov's testimony was a key part of the ongoing impeachment investigation launched last year. The lawmakers noted that the FBI initially represented the source as 'highly credible' and only took a hard look at him after he reported that President Biden accepted a bribe in exchange for ousting the Ukrainian Prosecutor General.
The FBI has been given until 15 March to provide documents concerning any wrongdoing or inaccurate reporting on Smirnov. The lawmakers also requested documents related to an FBI probe into the bribery allegations involving President Biden.
Smirnov, 43, was indicted in February on charges of making a false statement and creating a fictitious record. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in jail. Prosecutors have cited his alleged extensive contacts with Russian intelligence agencies as a reason for holding him without bail.
The letter follows the release of a transcript of Hunter Biden's testimony before the House Oversight Committee, in which he defended his father and accused Republicans of trafficking in innuendo and distortion.
