The special counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation has charged a one time informant with lying about President Biden and his son, Alexander Smirnov is accused of falsely claiming that the Ukrainian energy firm charisma paid the Bidens $5 million apiece. Back in 2015 and 2016 Laura Baron Lopez is here to explain the charges and how they undercut a key part of the House Republican impeachment inquiry into President Biden. So, Laura what is the DOJ alleging? So the Justice Department especially counsel, David Weiss, has charged Alexander Smirnov with two counts, essentially alleging that he has made false statements to a government agent. Let's count one count to a falsification of records in a federal investigation, and in this indictment, the DOJ is saying that the defendant's story to the FBI this is in the document itself. The defendant's story to the FBI was a fabrication and amalgam of otherwise unremarkable. Herbal business meetings and contacts that had actually occurred But at a later date than he claimed, and for the purpose of pitching charisma on the defendant, services and products not for the discussing bribes to public official one when he was in office, talking about President Biden there, but essentially all of the stories. Everything that he had detailed to the FBI was a fabrication. And these allegations had become a flashpoint in large part because you had people like the House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer. Other House Republicans, saying that these allegations flat out proved that President Biden was guilty of bribery. So what does all of this now mean for that House impeachment inquiry against President Biden? That's exactly right. Jeff Oversight chairman James Comer and a descendant. In addition to Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican, is Well as judiciary Chairman Jim Jordans repeatedly. We're trying to get ahold of this information that the FBI had from smearing off the allegations that he was making. Just last summer, Komar was calling this informant Alexander Smirnov, a trusted and highly credible informant who had been used by the FBI for decades. So this was a key central basis of the Republicans. The House Republicans entire impeachment inquiry into President Biden. What they said was the justification. Asian for launching that impeachment inquiry. And you know their response to this indictment is that they said that they were essentially misled by the SP I that the FBI had had this source for years and that they were simply just getting their information from this document that the FBI had in the FBI. As I understand it is now using memos that congressional Republicans released as part of their indictment against Alexander Smirnov. So what do you see as the other potential political fallout here? Democrats are seizing on this essentially saying. Ain't that the entire basis for the House Republican impeachment inquiry into President Biden is on shaky ground. They have no evidence whatsoever because one of their biggest pieces that they said was of evidence of a bribery scheme. Is now being called into severe question by the Justice Department, saying that it was all a lie now. This also comes Jeff after witness after witness including some of Hunter Biden's business associates have testified, you know, have been deposed by the oversight committee and the committee overseeing this and have essentially said that there is no evidence that President Biden was involved in any of Hunter Biden's business dealings, and this also comes Jeff a few weeks before Hunter Biden is set to testify to the committee. Pez. Thanks so much for getting up to speed on all this late breaking news. Thank you.
