Alexander Smirnov — the 43-year-old confidential FBI informant recently indicted for lying about President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter — had a long history of behavior jeopardizing his credibility long before he was criminally charged, according to several FBI officials.
Several ex-FBI employees with experience handling confidential informants recently told the Washington Post that Smirnov repeatedly violated protocol throughout his time as an FBI source by using his informant work as leverage for his personal benefit. Dmitry Fomichev, who is a tech investor, decided to loan Smirnov money because he "was representing himself as working for the FBI," and asserted that he was "a very powerful guy."
In a separate incident, Smirnov convinced investors to front him $100,000 for a company he was touting called Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp., again by citing his work with the FBI. Former undercover agent Robert Mazur, who managed informants for the FBI, told the Post that Smirnov committed a "cardinal sin" by disclosing work that was meant to be confidential. Former FBI agent Jerry Hester — who has worked with informants in past FBI investigations of organized crime — said that the bureau should have dropped him at that point, or at the very least, "read him the riot act."
READ MORE: 'We were warned': GOP rep says Smirnov indictment 'really undercuts' impeachment efforts
"If he did that, I would have immediately closed him for cause," Hester told the Post. "If you’re out telling people you’re working for the Bureau, you’re of no value to me."
Even as it notified Congress last year about Smirnov's 1023 report (meaning it came from a confidential informant), the FBI warned lawmakers that the veracity of the allegations in the report couldn't be verified. However, Republicans nonetheless charged ahead with multiple investigations of Joe and Hunter Biden, chiefly based on the now-debunked claim that they each solicited a $5 million bribe from Ukrainian officials.
In the summer of 2023, nearly a dozen Republicans gave interviews in which they lauded the credibility of Smirnov's 1023 report as unimpeachable. House Republican Conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York) called it “the biggest political corruption scandal, not only in my lifetime, but I would say the past 100 years." House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told Fox News that Smirnov was "[A] lot more credible than Christopher Steele, the guy who created the dossier that they used to go after President Trump," insisting "this source has a lot more credibility."
Smirnov was indicted by Department of Justice special counsel David Weiss — the same Trump-appointed US attorney from Delaware who has also indicted Hunter Biden on various tax and firearm-related charges. Following his indictment, Smirnov was revealed to have had contact with numerous "high-ranking" officials within Russian intelligence agencies. The Department of Justice alleged that Smirnov's accusations about the Bidens were part of a Russian intelligence operation meant to sow disinformation ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
READ MORE: 'Tale of the tape': These 10 Republicans brazenly touted FBI informant before he was tried
Despite Smirnov's indictment, both Jordan and House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky) have continued their efforts to impeach Biden. Even Jordan didn't dispute CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju when he pointed out in an interview that Smirnov lied to federal investigators about the nonexistent bribery scheme. He countered, however, that Smirnov's criminal charges didn't change the "fundamental facts" about the case.
Then, during an appearance at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Jordan admitted that "maybe the guy did lie" when CPAC host Matt Schlapp asked about Smirnov. Jordan then pivoted once again to criticizing former MI-6 agent Christopher Steele's dossier about former President Donald Trump (who was promptly removed from the FBI's payroll after he did a public interview with the Atlantic about his work as an informant).
Comer has since done a 180 on Smirnov, now saying he "wasn't an important part" of his own committee's investigation. In a Newsmax interview, Comer said that he "didn't even know" who Smirnov was, and only knew that the FBI had released a 1023 report that alleged "bribery."
READ MORE: Jim Jordan concedes FBI informant lied about Bidens when confronted by CNN host
