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David Chesnoff, defense attorney for Alexander Smirnov, talks on a phone Feb. 26, 2024, outside federal court in Los Angeles. (AP) David Chesnoff, defense attorney for Alexander Smirnov, talks on a phone Feb. 26, 2024, outside federal court in Los Angeles. (AP)

David Chesnoff, defense attorney for Alexander Smirnov, talks on a phone Feb. 26, 2024, outside federal court in Los Angeles. (AP)

Madison Czopek
By Madison Czopek February 26, 2024

If Your Time is short

  • Alexander Smirnov, an FBI informant, claimed Joe Biden accepted a $5 million bribe as vice president. In a recent indictment, federal prosecutors say Smirnov’s allegations were “fabrications.”

  • Smirnov’s bribery allegations and the FBI’s documentation of his claims were part of Republicans’ investigation into Biden. 

  • Since Smirnov’s indictment, Democrats, including Biden, have called for the impeachment inquiry to be dropped. Republicans say the inquiry doesn’t rely on Smirnov’s allegations, but, to date, their investigation has uncovered no evidence Biden engaged in wrongdoing or broke the law.

  • Our mission: Help you be an informed participant in democracy. Learn more.

With one arrest, some politicians and pundits speculated that the evidence that President Joe Biden accepted a bribe disappeared. But did it?

Tuning into cable news networks, the answer depended on which channel you consulted. 

On MSNBC, FBI informant Alexander Smirnov’s indictment was characterized as a "spectacular embarrassment" to Republicans’ continuing effort to impeach Biden. 

"The special counsel, Republican appointee, leading the case against Hunter Biden, who was appointed by Donald Trump now says that that guy — this informant they hung their entire claim on about the bribe — he lied," Chris Hayes, host of "All In," said Feb. 15.

On Feb. 16, Fox News host Sean Hannity said the informant’s indictment made Democrats "giddy," with Biden and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., calling for the impeachment inquiry to be dropped. 

"There’s a lot to unpack here," Hannity said. He described the FBI informant’s story as "a very, very small part of what is a large body of evidence" supporting the impeachment inquiry and said. "None of this negates the fact that Joe Biden lied about his knowledge of his son’s business dealings."

House Republicans have spent years investigating the Biden family’s business dealings and, in 2023, formally launched an impeachment inquiry into Biden. Throughout the investigation, Republicans have characterized Smirnov’s allegations that Biden accepted a $5 million bribe as vice president as central to the impeachment effort. As of Feb. 23, their investigation has produced no evidence that Biden engaged in wrongdoing or accepted a bribe

Who is this informant, and what does it mean for Republicans’ impeachment case? Here’s what we know:

Who is Alexander Smirnov?

Alexander Smirnov became an FBI "confidential human source," or FBI informant, in 2010, according to the indictment. Court filings have revealed little about Smirnov, 43: He previously lived in California and he has lived in Las Vegas since 2022. It is unclear where Smirnov was born. 

Smirnov was repeatedly told he must provide truthful information to the FBI, but he "provided false derogatory information to the FBI" about Biden and his son Hunter, the indictment said

In June 2020, Smirnov claimed that in 2015 or 2016, executives at Burisma — a Ukrainian energy company that once employed Hunter Biden — said they paid $5 million each to Joe Biden and Hunter when Joe Biden was still vice president so that Joe Biden would remove then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin and end a Shokin-led criminal investigation into Burisma.

In June, Republicans and Democrats reviewed a redacted form with Smirnov’s allegations and said the FBI had described him as "highly credible." At the time, the FBI made clear the allegations were unverified

These bribery allegations were a central part of House Republicans’ continuing impeachment case against Biden. 

What does the indictment accuse Smirnov of?

Smirnov’s bribery claims "were fabrications," according to the indictment. Smirnov was indicted on one count of making a false statement to a government agent and one count of falsifying records in a federal investigation, when Smirnov knowingly caused the creation of a false entry on an FBI 1023 form used to document his bribery allegations. 

The indictment said Smirnov had contact with Burisma executives in 2017, after Biden’s vice presidency ended and after Shokin — who was widely considered corrupt and ineffective — was fired in February 2016. 

"In other words, when (Biden) had no ability to influence U.S. policy and when (Shokin) was no longer in office," the indictment said

Prosecutors said Smirnov "transformed his routine and unextraordinary business" with Burisma executives "into bribery allegations against Public Official 1, the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against Public Official 1 and his candidacy."

In the indictment, Biden is referred to only as "Public Official 1" and his son Hunter is described as "Business Person 1." 

As they asked the court to keep Smirnov detained Feb. 20, prosecutors said Smirnov has "extensive foreign ties, including, most troublingly and by his own account, contact with foreign intelligence services, including Russian intelligence agencies, and has had such contacts recently."

Special Counsel David Weiss, a Trump appointee, brought the charges against Smirnov, who, if convicted, could face 25 years in prison. 

What is Hunter Biden’s link to Burisma? 

Hunter Biden joined Burisma’s board in 2014. At the time, his father, then the vice president, publicly represented U.S. policy in Ukraine. 

Hunter, a lawyer and businessman, had no particular expertise in energy or Ukraine. His Burisma ties were public knowledge in 2014 and have been scrutinized for years

Hunter left Burisma’s board in 2019, when Biden launched his campaign for president.

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 13, 2023. (AP)

Were Smirnov’s allegations crucial to impeachment? 

Smirnov’s allegations that Biden accepted a $5 million bribe while vice president were a key element of Republicans’ Biden investigation. 

In May, House Republicans subpoenaed the FBI for the record — called an FD-1023 form — that documented Smirnov’s allegations against Biden. FBI agents use FD-1023 forms to record unverified reporting from confidential human sources.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee that has been investigating the Biden family’s business dealings, told Fox News’ Jesse Watters that the form was "a very crucial piece of our investigation."

House Republicans, from left, Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Jason Smith make a statement to reporters about their impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 5, 2023. (AP)

In response, Christopher Dunham, an FBI official, wrote that a 1023 form does not "validate the information, establish its credibility, or weigh it against other information known or developed by the FBI."

"The mere existence of such a document would establish little beyond the fact that a confidential human source provided information and the FBI recorded it," Dunham wrote

After Republicans threatened to hold the FBI director in criminal contempt of Congress, the agency in June allowed lawmakers to privately review Smirnov’s statements in the 1023 form. Smirnov’s identity was then unknown. In July, against the FBI’s wishes, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, obtained and released the form.

When Republicans announced a formal impeachment inquiry into Biden in September, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy listed Smirnov’s claims among the "serious and credible allegations" against Biden. 

"Even a trusted FBI informant has alleged a bribe to the Biden family," McCarthy said. He also said that eyewitnesses have testified that Biden, as vice president, "joined on multiple phone calls and had multiple interactions" that were lucrative for Hunter Biden and Hunter’s associates. McCarthy also cited foreign payments to Biden family members and associates as cause for alarm. 

The evidence Republicans have provided so far, including during the impeachment inquiry, has not proved Biden engaged in wrongdoing, however.

A convoluted maze of financial records released by House Republicans shows that Biden family members and associates received $20 million in payments from sources with ties to foreign countries. About $5 million of that went to Hunter Biden and other Biden family members, with the rest going to Biden family business associates. 

The bank records show no evidence that any payments went to Joe Biden, who was vice president when some of the payments occurred. 

In January, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, an Oversight Committee member, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that the 1023 form documenting Smirnov’s statements was the "most corroborating evidence" Republicans had supporting allegations that Biden accepted a multimillion-dollar bribe.

(Internet Archive)

The response to Smirnov’s indictment

After Smirnov’s indictment, Comer said in a statement to PolitiFact that the impeachment inquiry "is not reliant" on Smirnov’s claims. Jordan also walked back his earlier statement. 

"Bank records don’t lie," Comer said, adding that the records show millions of dollars in payments to the Bidens, from people or businesses linked to Russia, China, Romania, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. 

The committee’s four memos of bank records neither claim nor prove that Biden accepted a bribe. 

Comer said witness testimony shows that "the Bidens were selling Joe Biden as the brand" and that "Biden knew about and participated in his family’s business schemes."

PolitiFact and other news outlets reported that Republicans misconstrued, oversold or misrepresented what they learned from testimony provided by Devon Archer, one of Hunter’s former business associates. Another witness, Tony Bobulinski, has made unproved allegations that Biden was involved in one of his family’s business ventures.

Protesters in the audience wear T-shirts with the face of House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and the words, "No Evidence," on them as the committee begins an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, Sept. 28, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP)

An October poll found that 35% of adults said they believe Biden has acted illegally regarding Hunter’s overseas business dealings, and 33% said he acted unethically, The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reported.

The White House pointed PolitiFact to Biden’s Feb. 16 response to Smirnov’s indictment: "He is lying," Biden said of Smirnov. 

The impeachment inquiry, "should be dropped," Biden said. "It’s been an outrageous effort from the beginning." 

Raskin and Oversight Committee Democrats called for Republicans to end the inquiry. Raskin said the indictment "demonstrated how key evidence at the heart of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry is based on a lie."

With a narrow House majority, Republicans would need nearly all party members to impeach Biden, and GOP lawmakers say they do not have the votes. Even then, to remove Biden, the Democratic-majority Senate would have to vote to convict. 

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

RELATED: Largest share of foreign payments went to Biden associates, not kin, House GOP memos show

RELATED: Transcript of Devon Archer testimony doesn’t back key claims about Joe and Hunter Biden

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Our Sources

Court Listener, United States v. Smirnov Indictment (Sealed) — Document #1, Feb. 15, 2024

Court Listener, United States v. Smirnov Memorandum — Document #15, Feb. 20, 2024

Court Listener, United States v. Smirnov (2:24-cr-00091) District Court, C.D. California, accessed Feb. 22, 2024

Court Listener, United States v. Smirnov (2:24-mj-00166) District Court, D. Nevada, accessed Feb. 22, 2024  

The Washington Post, Former FBI informant charged with lying about Biden business, Feb. 15, 2024

The Associated Press, Ex-FBI informant charged with lying about Bidens had Russian intelligence contacts, prosecutors say, Feb. 20, 2024

The Associated Press, How is an ex-FBI informant charged with lying about Bidens allegedly linked to Russian intelligence? Feb. 21, 2024

CNN, Ex-FBI informant charged with lying about the Bidens is re-arrested as prosecutors fight to keep him behind bars, Feb. 22, 2024

PolitiFact, Trump and some in GOP are promoting a Biden bribery allegation. It is from 2020 and unverified, June 16, 2023

PolitiFact, House Republicans’ findings about the Biden family’s foreign business practices, explained, May 16, 2023

The Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, Message from the FBI on the FD-1023 Request from Congress, accessed Feb. 23, 2024

Committee on Oversight and Accountability Democrats, Ranking Member Raskin’s Statement Following Review of Debunked FBI Tip, June 5, 2023

Letter from Acting Assistant Director of the FBI Christopher Dunham to Rep. James Comer, May 10, 2023

The Associated Press, FBI informant charged with lying about Joe and Hunter Biden’s ties to Ukrainian energy company, Feb. 16, 2024

The Washington Post, Another GOP Biden ‘informant.’ Another indictment and link to Russia, Feb. 21, 2024

Sen. Chuck Grassley, Grassley Obtains & Releases FBI Record Alleging VP Biden Foreign Bribery Scheme, July 20, 2023

The Washington Post, Remember the ‘Biden bribe’ allegation? DOJ now says it was made up, Feb. 15, 2024

PolitiFact, Donald Trump ad misleads about Joe Biden, Ukraine and the prosecutor, Oct. 11, 2019

The New York Times, The Informant Turned Defendant Who Took Aim at the Bidens, Feb. 21, 2024

PolitiFact, The silence of the year: What did Hunter Biden do for Burisma? Dec. 16, 2019

The Washington Post, A timeline of the tangled life, career and legal woes of Hunter Biden, Dec. 11, 2023 

The Washington Post, As vice president, Biden said Ukraine should increase gas production. Then his son got a job with a Ukrainian gas company, July 22, 2019

The Washington Post, Hunter Biden’s new job at a Ukrainian gas company is a problem for U.S. soft power, May 14, 2024

The New York Times, Joe Biden, His Son and the Case Against a Ukrainian Oligarch, Dec. 8, 2015

PolitiFact, Trump’s Ukraine call, a whistleblower and the Bidens: What we know, what we don’t, Sept. 23, 2019

PolitiFact, Largest share of foreign payments went to Biden associates, not kin, House GOP memos show, Sept. 18, 2023

HuffPost, Justice Department Charges FBI Informant With Falsely Alleging Joe Biden Paid Bribes, Feb. 16, 2024

Rep. Kevin McCarthy post on X, Sept. 12, 2023

MSNBC, ‘Spectacular embarrassment’: GOP's ‘informant’ charged with lying about Bidens, Feb. 15, 2024

Salon, "Humiliation": Fox host buries GOP as Republican admits "we were warned" about indicted informant, Feb. 22, 2024

Letter from Acting Assistant Director of the FBI Christopher Dunham to Rep. James Comer, June 9, 2023

The Hill, Republicans release FBI form with unverified Biden-Burisma allegations, July 20, 2023

NBC News, House Oversight chair prepares to hold FBI director in contempt over document in Biden probe, May 31, 2023

The White House, Remarks by President Biden on the Reported Death of Aleksey Navalny, Feb. 16, 2024

PolitiFact, Transcript of Devon Archer testimony doesn’t back key claims about Joe and Hunter Biden, Aug. 4, 2023

The Washington Post, Devon Archer said the opposite of what Republicans claimed, Aug. 3, 2023

FactCheck.org, Republicans Oversell Archer’s Testimony About Hunter and Joe Biden, Aug. 14, 2023

PolitiFact, Tony Bobulinski, Hunter Biden and China: an explainer, Oct. 29, 2020

CNN, Former Biden family business associate recycles unproven allegations to House panels, Feb. 13, 2023

Internet Archive, Hannity  FOX News  February 16, 2024 6:00pm-7:00pm PST, accessed Feb. 23, 2024

Internet Archive, Jesse Watters Primetime  FOX News  May 22, 2023 4:00pm-5:00pm PDT, May 22, 2023

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The Washington Post, 10 Republicans who treated the Biden bribery claim like gospel, Feb. 21, 2024

The Associated Press, Ex-FBI source accused of lying about Bidens and having Russian contacts is returned to US custody, Feb. 22, 2024

CNN, Ex-FBI informant charged with lying about the Bidens is re-arrested as prosecutors fight to keep him behind bars, Feb. 22, 2024

Fox News, FBI informant charged with giving false information about Hunter Biden in 2020, Feb. 15, 2024

Internet Archive, Hannity  FOX News  January 11, 2024 6:00pm-7:00pm PST, Jan. 11, 2024

CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju post on X, Feb 21, 2024

ABC News, ​Raskin says FBI informant revelations 'destroy' Biden impeachment case; GOP downplays impact, Feb. 21, 2024

Internet Archive, CNN Newsroom Live  CNN  February 16, 2024 1:00am-2:01am PST, Feb. 16, 2021

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Comer Reveals How Joe Biden Received Laundered China Money, Nov. 1, 2023

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Fourth Bank Records Memorandum from the Oversight Committee’s Investigation into the Biden Family’s Influence Peddling and Business Schemes, Nov. 1, 2023

Committee on Oversight and Accountability Majority Staff, Third Bank Records Memorandum from the Oversight Committee’s Investigation into the Biden Family’s Influence Peddling and Business Schemes, Aug. 9, 2023

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, ​​Comer Reveals New Evidence in Biden Family’s Influence Peddling Schemes, May 10, 2023

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Second Bank Records Memorandum from the Oversight Committee’s Investigation into the Biden Family’s Influence Peddling and Business Schemes, May 10, 2023

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, New Evidence Resulting from the Oversight Committee’s Investigation into the Biden Family’s Influence Peddling and Business Schemes, March 16, 2023

The U.S. Justice Department, Grand Jury Returns Indictment Charging FBI Confidential Human Source with Felony False Statement and Obstruction Crimes, Feb. 15, 2024

CNN, Grassley releases internal FBI document about unverified Biden bribery allegations, July 20, 2023

Axios, House Republicans see Biden impeachment slipping out of reach, Feb. 23, 2024

Politico, Biden impeachment effort on the brink of collapse, Feb. 23, 2024 

AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, Most say Biden has acted either illegally or unethically in his son’s business dealings, Oct. 14, 2023

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