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.
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.