Informant’s arrest for allegedly lying to FBI could be bad news for Jim Jordan

21 February 2024

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer's (R-Kentucky) investigation of President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden was dealt a major blow when his star witness, Alexander Smirnov, was arrested for allegedly lying to the FBI.

Comer, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and other far-right House Republicans have accused President Biden of illegally profiting from his son's business activities in Ukraine, and they have touted Smirnov as the witness who would bring the Bidens down. But Smirnov's arrest, announced by special counsel David Weiss, is a major blow to not only Smirnov's credibility, but also, to efforts to impeach the president.

In an article published by Newsweek on February 21, reporter Ewan Palmer lays out some reasons why Smirnov's legal problems could be bad for Jordan.

"In court filings on Tuesday, (February 20), the Department of Justice said that Smirnov admitted during interviews that he had met with 'officials associated with Russian intelligence' who were 'involved in passing a story' about Hunter Biden," Palmer reports. "The highly disputed claims that Biden financially benefited from his son's foreign business dealings while he was vice president, including accusations of taking bribes, have been cited by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jordan and other Republican figures in their impeachment proceedings."

The Newsweek reporter adds, "The allegations have been denied by the White House and Hunter Biden's lawyers, with Democrats long criticizing the GOP for failing to find any meaningful evidence to back up their claims against the president. A number of legal experts and Democratic figures have now suggested Jordan and other Republicans could face consequences if it is found Russian intelligence was the source of the alleged false bribery claims they said justified the impeachment of Biden."

In a February 20 post on X, formerly Twitter, attorney Tristan Snell — a former assistant attorney general for New York State — wrote, "Jim Jordan, Chuck Grassley, and James Comer were either duped by Smirnov and the Kremlin — or they were in on it. Either way, DOJ must subpoena every single communication Jordan, Grassley, and Comer had with or about Smirnov and anything related. Immediately. TONIGHT."

Snell also tweeted, "Either way — because either they are material witnesses — or they're co-conspirators. They have ZERO grounds to quash the subpoenas. And this investigation needs to include third-party record keepers — the government, cell phone carriers, gmail or other personal email, etc."

Chris D. Jackson, a Democratic election commissioner in Tennessee, tweeted, "When the Democrats take back the House, they need to censure James Comer and Jim Jordan, and remove them from their committees."

Read Newsweek's full report at this link.

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