What happened
Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant, pleaded guilty Monday to falsely claiming that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were involved in a bribery scheme with Ukrainian energy company Burisma. His bogus 2020 allegation that the Bidens were each paid $5 million by Burisma formed the basis of stalled Republican efforts to impeach Biden. Smirnov also admitted to evading taxes on $2 million in income.
Who said what
Smirnoff, motivated by "bias" against Biden, spun his "routine and unextraordinary business contacts" with Burisma into "fabrications" about bribery, prosecutors said in their indictment. According to court documents, the BBC said, Smirnov "had ties with Russian intelligence" and used his "$2 million in unreported income to buy a Las Vegas condominium," lease a Bentley and spend heavily on clothes and jewelry.
Smirnov's indictment was brought by special counsel David Weiss, a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney "who also prosecuted Hunter Biden on gun and tax charges," The Associated Press said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Smirnov is scheduled to be sentenced next month. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed to recommend four to six years in prison.
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rulesSpeed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Actspeed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in VenezuelaSpeed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young RepublicansSpeed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votesspeed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections
-
News organizations reject Pentagon restrictionsSpeed Read The proposed policy is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest move to limit press access at the Pentagon
-
Trump declares end to Gaza war, ‘dawn’ of new MideastSpeed Read Hamas freed the final 20 living Israeli hostages and Israel released thousands of Palestinian detainees
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia JamesSpeed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
