Special Counsel Casts Pre-Election Doubt On Biden ‘Burisma Bribe’ With Dramatic Airport Arrest

Last June, the leaked contents of a stonewalled FBI document, form FD-1023, alleging that President Joe Biden was paid $5  million by an executive of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings, where his son Hunter sat on the board.

The form, dated June 30, 2020, was from a “highly credible” confidential human source who had detailed multiple meetings and conversations they had with a top Burisma executive over the course of several years, beginning in 2015. The CHS had been working with the FBI as a regular, reliable source of information since 2010, and has been paid approximately $200,000 by the bureau.

Now, as the 2024 election heats up, that source – Alexander Smirnov, 43, has been arrested and charged with lying about the bribes by special counsel David Weiss, who is investigating Hunter Biden.

According to the NY Times, “The story Mr. Smirnov told investigators was part of a series of explosive and unsubstantiated claims by Republicans that the Bidens engaged in potentially criminal activity — allegations central to the party’s efforts to impeach the president.”

Smirnov faces a two-count indictment for making false statements and obstructing the government’s long-running investigation into Hunter Biden. He faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

Smirnov was arrested in Las Vegas on Wednesday after disembarking from an international flight, and was expected to appear on Thursday before a federal judge.

According to the indictment, Smirnov lied when he said that Hunter Biden promised to protect Burisma “through his dad, from all kinds of problems,” and was only in contact with Burisma executives in 2017, after Biden left office.

Smirnov is accused of exaggerating his “routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma” into “bribery allegations” against Joe Biden.

Which raises the question – if Smirnov told the FBI about the alleged bribery in confidence – and had no expectation of a ‘leaked’ FD-1023 becoming central to Republican investigations, what did he have to gain from lying?

And why charge him with lying now?