Alexander Smirnov pleads guilty to lying about Joe Biden, son Hunter accepted bribes
Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant charged with lying about Hunter Biden’s overseas business deals, pleaded guilty on Monday in Los Angeles to federal charges of making a false claim and tax evasion.
Smirnov, a native of Ukraine, faces up to 35 years in prison and a $1 million fine for the four counts. But federal sentencing guidelines call for a term of four to six years in prison when U.S. District Judge Otis Wright sentences him. Smirnov also agreed to pay $2.15 million in back taxes.
Smirnov had been jailed since he was indicted in February with two counts of making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record for information he fed the FBI. He was accused of falsely claiming to the FBI that executives of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma admitted to him in 2015 and 2016 that they hired Biden to “protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems." Biden was a Burisma board member.
Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Smirnov “had contact with foreign intelligence services, including Russian intelligence agencies."
Smirnov made his claim to investigators in June 2020 when Joe Biden was campaigning for the White House. Prosecutors say Smirnov also lied about Burisma executives telling him they paid $5 million apiece to then-Vice President Joe Biden and Hunter so that Hunter "will take care of all those issues through his dad."
The allegations were among the claims that formed the basis of a House Republican impeachment inquiry against President Biden. Three committees drafted a report summarizing the investigation but didn't draft articles of impeachment or vote on them.
Justice Department special counsel David Weiss prosecuted the cases against Smirnov and against Hunter Biden. Smirnov’s plea came after Biden was convicted at trial of federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to tax evasion.
President Biden pardoned his son Dec. 1 for those crimes and any other potential charges for his activities since 2014.
Smirnov's plea agreement called for him to pay $2.15 million in back taxes for years 2020, 2021 and 2022. Despite maximum sentences of 20 years for lying to the FBI and five years for each count of tax evasion, federal guidelines called for a term of four to six years in prison and a $675,000 fine.
He could be deported to Ukraine when the case is over.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alexander Smirnov pleads guilty to falsely smearing Hunter Biden