“But make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death. Putin is responsible. What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled,” President Biden.
At point during the brief Q&A Biden was asked whether the US believes this was an assassination. Biden didn’t affirm the question directly but said that “no doubt” it was the consequences of what “Putin and his thugs did.”
As for a US response, Biden only said: “We’re contemplating what else can be done.”
Navalny had been serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism and corruption. His supporters say these are all trumped-up charges while Russian media has at various times suggested he’s a CIA-supported opposition stooge.
But something very noticeably absent from Biden’s address and the Q&A that followed was this fact: An American citizen journalist died in Ukrainian custody… and his name has not been mentioned from the White House press podium, nor his case investigated.
Every single American politician that wants to send your tax $$$ to Ukraine has taken upon themselves to prematurely comment on the death of Alexey Navalny in a Russian prison.
Where were they when AMERICAN journalist, Gonzalo Lira, died in the custody of Ukrainians?!?
The Grift continues — But it remains that Gonzalo Lira’s death on Jan.24 – following an eight-month imprisonment on charges of ”justifying Russia’s military actions in Ukraine” – is not ‘useful’ to the Biden administration. Yet Biden during his speech was very quick to pivot from Navalny’s plight to the need for Congress to push through his funding package for Ukraine.
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, and also received an alleged $5 million.
The form, dated June 30, 2020, was from a “highly credible” confidential human source (CHS) who had detailed multiple meetings and conversationsthey 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?
If this paid, long-term, trusted FBI confidential human source really did lie to his FBI handler when he alleged that Joe and Hunter Biden each had received a $5m bribe from Burisma, then he deserves what he gets. But: 1. Why didn’t Weiss investigate the CHS’ allegations in the…
A logical question is raised here, of course, as to how it was that the vaunted Federal Bureau of Investigation DID NOT know this Smirnov dude was lying to them and blowing smoke up their ***** back in 2017, and again in 2020, four years ago now, and the information from Joe Biden’s so-called “Department of Justice,” when it is anything but, and which the FBI is a part of, that the dude was lying to the FBI in 2017 and 2020, which agency did not know he was lying to them in 2017 and 2020, when the DOJ says today, as Joe Biden is facing impeachment, that he was lying to them in 2017 and 2020, only came out just before a presidential election all these years later in 2024.
An article in The Artistree titled “‘I’m Serious!’ Biden Responds Forcefully to Reporter’s Question About GOP Probe Witness Charged with Lying” by Ashley White on 18 February 2024 does give us some needed insight as to how that all came to be, as follows:
President Joe Biden responded strongly when asked about Alexander Smirnov, a key figure in a GOP investigation charged with lying to the FBI.
Special Counsel David Weiss announced Smirnov’s indictment, stating that his claims about the president and his son, including allegations of receiving millions in bribes, were false.
Amidst questions from reporters, NBC News White House correspondent Peter Alexander asked Biden about his reaction to Smirnov’s indictment and whether he believed the impeachment inquiry should be dropped.
Biden responded emphatically, stating that Smirnov was lying and that the inquiry should be ended.
He described the GOP’s efforts as outrageous and emphasized that he and his son did nothing wrong.
Smirnov’s allegations were a significant part of the GOP probe and were frequently highlighted by conservative media outlets.
Biden’s remarks reflect his frustration with the ongoing scrutiny surrounding his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings and the efforts by some to tie them to alleged corruption involving foreign entities.
The president’s stance underscores his commitment to defending himself and his family against what he perceives as unjust attacks.
Overall, Biden’s comments demonstrate his determination to confront challenges head-on and to push back against what he views as baseless accusations designed to undermine his presidency.
end quotes
So, the “proof” that the Smirnoff dude was lying comes to us from straight out of the mouth of Joe Biden, himself, which is what makes it “truthful” that the Smirnov dude was lying four years ago in 2020, which thought in turn takes us to the PRESS RELEASE of the Biden DOJ on this matter titled “Grand Jury Returns Indictment Charging FBI Confidential Human Source with Felony False Statement and Obstruction Crimes” on Thursday, February 15, 2024, where we have as follows from Joe’s DOJ, to wit:
For Immediate Release
Special Counsel David C. Weiss
Today, a federal court unsealed a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Central District of California charging Alexander Smirnov, 43, with making a false statement, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and creating a false and fictitious record, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519, for statements he made that were recorded in an official record of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) known as a Form 1023.
David C. Weiss, Special Counsel, made the announcement.
On February 14, 2024, a federal grand jury returned the indictment and Smirnov was arrested at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, after his arrival in the U.S. from overseas.
Later today, Smirnov will have an initial appearance at the federal courthouse in the District of Nevada at 2:30 p.m. pacific time.
According to the indictment, Smirnov was a confidential human source (CHS) with the FBI.
As alleged in the indictment, despite repeated admonishments that he must provide truthful information to the FBI and that he must not fabricate evidence, Smirnov provided false derogatory information to the FBI about Public Official 1, and Businessperson 1, the son of Public Official 1, in 2020, after Public Official 1 became a presidential candidate.
The indictment alleges that in March 2017, Smirnov reported to an FBI Agent that he had had a phone call with the owner of Ukrainian industrial conglomerate Burisma Holdings, Limited concerning Burisma’s interest in acquiring a U.S. company and making an initial public offering (IPO) on a U.S.-based stock exchange.
In reporting that conversation to the FBI Agent, Smirnov also noted that Businessperson 1, Public Official 1’s son, was a member of Burisma’s Board, a fact that was publicly known.
The indictment alleges that Smirnov provided no further information.
Three years later, in June 2020, the indictment alleges that Smirnov reported, for the first time, two meetings in 2015 and/or 2016.
As alleged in the indictment, Smirnov falsely claimed that during these meetings, executives associated with Burisma, admitted to him that they hired Businessperson 1 to “protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems,” and later that they had specifically paid $5 million each to Public Official 1 and Businessperson 1, when Public Official 1 was still in office, so that “[Businessperson 1] will take care of all those issues through his dad,” referring to a criminal investigation being conducted by the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General into Burisma and to “deal with [the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General].”
As alleged in the indictment, the events that Smirnov first reported to the FBI Agent in June 2020 were fabrications.
In truth and fact, the defendant had contact with executives from Burisma in 2017, after the end of the administration when Public Official 1 had no ability to influence U.S. policy and after the Ukrainian Prosecutor General had been fired in February 2016.
The indictment alleges that the defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against Public Official 1 after expressing bias against Public Official 1 and his presidential candidacy.
As further alleged in the indictment, when he was interviewed by FBI agents in September 2023, Smirnov repeated some of his false claims, changed his story as to other of his claims, and promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Court documents and information for this case is located on the website of the District Court for the Central District of California or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-00091.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime.
Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Updated February 15, 2024
end quotes
In closing, it will be interesting to see old senile Joe Biden and his son Hunter put on the witness stand during this Smirnov dude’s up-coming criminal trial.
One would think that is a sane and rational world, which it most certainly is not in the whacked-out world of politics inside the Washington Beltway, where insanity prevails, that this Smirnov deal would be a huge black eye for the federal bureau of investigation, reputed to be this nation’s premier law enf0rcement agency, when in fact this Smirnov deal makes them look like incompetent clowns who didn’t have a clue the Smirnov dude was lying to them for years about Joe and Hunter Biden, which lies thankfully Joe himself exposed as lies just recently, but it is not, since by this time, most of the people in America and I think all of the politicians in Washington, starting with Joe Biden, accept the fact that the FBI is nothing more than a pack of fools, who, as this case clearly demonstrates, can’t tell lies from truth.
And according to an article on the subject of Smirnov in The Hill titled “DOJ filing says FBI informant told investigators he got Hunter Biden dirt from Russian officials” by Nick Robertson on February 21, 2024, it appears that as Joe Biden has said so many times before, this is RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION, people, Joe Biden is not a crook, to wit:
The confidential source at the heart of the House GOP investigation into Hunter Biden who was charged with lying last week received the information from Russian intelligence, according to a Department of Justice filing Tuesday.
end quote
And there we have it, people, straight from the horse’s mouth, which takes us back to the story, to wit:
Alexander Smirnov was charged Thursday with making false statements to the FBI in relation to his testimony about Hunter Biden.
Smirnov, who had worked as an FBI informant since 2010, previously told the agency that both President Biden and his son Hunter received $5 million bribes from the head of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma.
end quotes
Yes, people, 2020!
That is how long this Smirnov dude has been telling outrageous lies to the FBI, and in all that time, they never knew, which is quite a statement about the investigative ability of the FBI, which comes across as a bunch of Keystone Cops ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwUUUqgfu-E ) in this caper. (see, also, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryvljjccqL8 )
Getting back to the story, and more confirmation that this is all RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION intended to make Joe Biden look bad so Trump can win, we have as follows:
In a filing arguing for Smirnov to be detained pending trial, prosecutors wrote that Smirnov told investigators after his arrest that the claims originated from Russian intelligence.
“During his custodial interview on February 14, Smirnov admitted that officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story about Businessperson 1,” the filing reads.
Businessperson 1 is Hunter Biden.
Smirnov’s Burisma claims were a focus of public attention in the House GOP investigation of Hunter Biden and related impeachment inquiry into the president.
Smirnov’s arrest has raised concerns about the validity of other claims in the investigation, though House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said the committee’s impeachment claims are not based on Smirnov’s allegations.
Comer said the FBI previously refused to release an unredacted version of Smirnov’s allegations, citing his privacy as a confidential source.
“The FBI had this form for years and it appears they did nothing to verify the troubling claims contained within the record until Congress became aware of and demanded access to them,” Comer said in a statement last week.
“To be clear, the impeachment inquiry is not reliant on the FBI’s FD-1023,” he continued, referring to Smirnov’s claims.
And people wonder why people don’t trust the “government?”
How about it has become the source of nothing but endless BULL**** just like this that requires us to be dog stupid to accept it and believe it.
Truth, justice and the American Way cease to exist once one is inside the Washington Beltway.
Thank you for an excellent summary.
A logical question is raised here, of course, as to how it was that the vaunted Federal Bureau of Investigation DID NOT know this Smirnov dude was lying to them and blowing smoke up their ***** back in 2017, and again in 2020, four years ago now, and the information from Joe Biden’s so-called “Department of Justice,” when it is anything but, and which the FBI is a part of, that the dude was lying to the FBI in 2017 and 2020, which agency did not know he was lying to them in 2017 and 2020, when the DOJ says today, as Joe Biden is facing impeachment, that he was lying to them in 2017 and 2020, only came out just before a presidential election all these years later in 2024.
An article in The Artistree titled “‘I’m Serious!’ Biden Responds Forcefully to Reporter’s Question About GOP Probe Witness Charged with Lying” by Ashley White on 18 February 2024 does give us some needed insight as to how that all came to be, as follows:
President Joe Biden responded strongly when asked about Alexander Smirnov, a key figure in a GOP investigation charged with lying to the FBI.
Special Counsel David Weiss announced Smirnov’s indictment, stating that his claims about the president and his son, including allegations of receiving millions in bribes, were false.
Amidst questions from reporters, NBC News White House correspondent Peter Alexander asked Biden about his reaction to Smirnov’s indictment and whether he believed the impeachment inquiry should be dropped.
Biden responded emphatically, stating that Smirnov was lying and that the inquiry should be ended.
He described the GOP’s efforts as outrageous and emphasized that he and his son did nothing wrong.
Smirnov’s allegations were a significant part of the GOP probe and were frequently highlighted by conservative media outlets.
Biden’s remarks reflect his frustration with the ongoing scrutiny surrounding his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings and the efforts by some to tie them to alleged corruption involving foreign entities.
The president’s stance underscores his commitment to defending himself and his family against what he perceives as unjust attacks.
Overall, Biden’s comments demonstrate his determination to confront challenges head-on and to push back against what he views as baseless accusations designed to undermine his presidency.
end quotes
So, the “proof” that the Smirnoff dude was lying comes to us from straight out of the mouth of Joe Biden, himself, which is what makes it “truthful” that the Smirnov dude was lying four years ago in 2020, which thought in turn takes us to the PRESS RELEASE of the Biden DOJ on this matter titled “Grand Jury Returns Indictment Charging FBI Confidential Human Source with Felony False Statement and Obstruction Crimes” on Thursday, February 15, 2024, where we have as follows from Joe’s DOJ, to wit:
For Immediate Release
Special Counsel David C. Weiss
Today, a federal court unsealed a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Central District of California charging Alexander Smirnov, 43, with making a false statement, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and creating a false and fictitious record, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519, for statements he made that were recorded in an official record of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) known as a Form 1023.
David C. Weiss, Special Counsel, made the announcement.
On February 14, 2024, a federal grand jury returned the indictment and Smirnov was arrested at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, after his arrival in the U.S. from overseas.
Later today, Smirnov will have an initial appearance at the federal courthouse in the District of Nevada at 2:30 p.m. pacific time.
According to the indictment, Smirnov was a confidential human source (CHS) with the FBI.
As alleged in the indictment, despite repeated admonishments that he must provide truthful information to the FBI and that he must not fabricate evidence, Smirnov provided false derogatory information to the FBI about Public Official 1, and Businessperson 1, the son of Public Official 1, in 2020, after Public Official 1 became a presidential candidate.
The indictment alleges that in March 2017, Smirnov reported to an FBI Agent that he had had a phone call with the owner of Ukrainian industrial conglomerate Burisma Holdings, Limited concerning Burisma’s interest in acquiring a U.S. company and making an initial public offering (IPO) on a U.S.-based stock exchange.
In reporting that conversation to the FBI Agent, Smirnov also noted that Businessperson 1, Public Official 1’s son, was a member of Burisma’s Board, a fact that was publicly known.
The indictment alleges that Smirnov provided no further information.
Three years later, in June 2020, the indictment alleges that Smirnov reported, for the first time, two meetings in 2015 and/or 2016.
As alleged in the indictment, Smirnov falsely claimed that during these meetings, executives associated with Burisma, admitted to him that they hired Businessperson 1 to “protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems,” and later that they had specifically paid $5 million each to Public Official 1 and Businessperson 1, when Public Official 1 was still in office, so that “[Businessperson 1] will take care of all those issues through his dad,” referring to a criminal investigation being conducted by the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General into Burisma and to “deal with [the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General].”
As alleged in the indictment, the events that Smirnov first reported to the FBI Agent in June 2020 were fabrications.
In truth and fact, the defendant had contact with executives from Burisma in 2017, after the end of the administration when Public Official 1 had no ability to influence U.S. policy and after the Ukrainian Prosecutor General had been fired in February 2016.
The indictment alleges that the defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against Public Official 1 after expressing bias against Public Official 1 and his presidential candidacy.
As further alleged in the indictment, when he was interviewed by FBI agents in September 2023, Smirnov repeated some of his false claims, changed his story as to other of his claims, and promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Court documents and information for this case is located on the website of the District Court for the Central District of California or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-00091.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime.
Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Updated February 15, 2024
end quotes
In closing, it will be interesting to see old senile Joe Biden and his son Hunter put on the witness stand during this Smirnov dude’s up-coming criminal trial.
Joe Biden to Merrick “THE GUTLESS” Garland upon getting hit with impeachment and the damning Hur Report on Joe’s failing mental capacity:
“SEND LAWYERS, GUNS AND MONEY, MERRICK, YOU GOT TO GET ME OUT OF THIS ****!”
One would think that is a sane and rational world, which it most certainly is not in the whacked-out world of politics inside the Washington Beltway, where insanity prevails, that this Smirnov deal would be a huge black eye for the federal bureau of investigation, reputed to be this nation’s premier law enf0rcement agency, when in fact this Smirnov deal makes them look like incompetent clowns who didn’t have a clue the Smirnov dude was lying to them for years about Joe and Hunter Biden, which lies thankfully Joe himself exposed as lies just recently, but it is not, since by this time, most of the people in America and I think all of the politicians in Washington, starting with Joe Biden, accept the fact that the FBI is nothing more than a pack of fools, who, as this case clearly demonstrates, can’t tell lies from truth.
And according to an article on the subject of Smirnov in The Hill titled “DOJ filing says FBI informant told investigators he got Hunter Biden dirt from Russian officials” by Nick Robertson on February 21, 2024, it appears that as Joe Biden has said so many times before, this is RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION, people, Joe Biden is not a crook, to wit:
The confidential source at the heart of the House GOP investigation into Hunter Biden who was charged with lying last week received the information from Russian intelligence, according to a Department of Justice filing Tuesday.
end quote
And there we have it, people, straight from the horse’s mouth, which takes us back to the story, to wit:
Alexander Smirnov was charged Thursday with making false statements to the FBI in relation to his testimony about Hunter Biden.
Smirnov, who had worked as an FBI informant since 2010, previously told the agency that both President Biden and his son Hunter received $5 million bribes from the head of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma.
end quotes
Yes, people, 2020!
That is how long this Smirnov dude has been telling outrageous lies to the FBI, and in all that time, they never knew, which is quite a statement about the investigative ability of the FBI, which comes across as a bunch of Keystone Cops ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwUUUqgfu-E ) in this caper. (see, also, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryvljjccqL8 )
Getting back to the story, and more confirmation that this is all RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION intended to make Joe Biden look bad so Trump can win, we have as follows:
In a filing arguing for Smirnov to be detained pending trial, prosecutors wrote that Smirnov told investigators after his arrest that the claims originated from Russian intelligence.
“During his custodial interview on February 14, Smirnov admitted that officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story about Businessperson 1,” the filing reads.
Businessperson 1 is Hunter Biden.
Smirnov’s Burisma claims were a focus of public attention in the House GOP investigation of Hunter Biden and related impeachment inquiry into the president.
Smirnov’s arrest has raised concerns about the validity of other claims in the investigation, though House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said the committee’s impeachment claims are not based on Smirnov’s allegations.
Comer said the FBI previously refused to release an unredacted version of Smirnov’s allegations, citing his privacy as a confidential source.
“The FBI had this form for years and it appears they did nothing to verify the troubling claims contained within the record until Congress became aware of and demanded access to them,” Comer said in a statement last week.
“To be clear, the impeachment inquiry is not reliant on the FBI’s FD-1023,” he continued, referring to Smirnov’s claims.