'Tale of the tape': These 10 Republicans brazenly touted indicted FBI informant before he was tried

21 February 2024

Alexander Smirnov was not only indicted last week for allegedly lying to the FBI about the Bidens — he's now alleged to have ties to "high-ranking" Russian intelligence officials. But before his criminal charges, he was viewed as the star witness in Republicans' ongoing investigations of both President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

Department of Justice special counsel David Weiss — a holdover Trump appointee who is currently the US Attorney for the District of Delaware — charged Smirnov with lying to the government specifically about both Joe and Hunter Biden soliciting $5 million bribes. Smirnov was the source of what's known as a 1023 report, which is testimony from a confidential source. That 1023 report was then used as the basis for the high-profile congressional investigations of the Bidens.

While it may be tempting for some of Biden's critics to gloss over their main source of information facing potential prison time for lying to the government, the Washington Post's Aaron Blake has compiled what he calls a "tale of the tape" — statements that 10 major Republican officials have made about both Smirnov and his now spurious claims.

1. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tennessee)

In July of 2023, Burchett appeared on Fox News host Maria Bartiromo's show and said "We've shown them the evidence. I don’t know what else you need other than President Biden coming on the news saying: 'Hey, I’m a crook. I took this money. I took these bribes.' I mean, what else do they need? There’s just too much evidence in it. And it’s all documented.”

2. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Georgia)

Clyde said much of the same in his own interview with Bartiromo in August of 2023, calling Biden "[T]he most corrupt president."

"You just have to read the FBI’s FD-1023 form of the interview with the president of [Ukrainian energy company] Burisma to see that Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden were bribing, were requiring from really extorting Burisma to the tune of $10 million, $5 million for each one of them. I mean, come on," Clyde said.

3. Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas)

In July of last year, Fallon quote-tweeted the 1023 report posted by the House Oversight Committee's official X/Twitter account, writing, "This is damning evidence that Biden is compromised."

4. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia)

The Post found a quote from last June in which Greene called the 1023 report an "impeachable document," adding that "President Biden should be impeached. Secondly, he should be prosecuted. This is unbelievable. It’s a pay-to-play scheme. He took a bribe from a foreign national in a foreign country that paid millions of dollars. He needs to be prosecuted for this, and I would argue that he should serve jail time."

5. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)

Rep. Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox News' Sean Hannity last summer that the FBI's 1023 source was "[A] lot more credible than Christopher Steele, the guy who created the dossier that they used to go after President Trump," and was willing to "bet you this source has a lot more credibility."

6. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida)

Bartiromo hosted numerous House Republicans on her show in 2023 to corroborate the 1023 report, including Luna, who said in June that "[T]his is absolutely something that Oversight has been speculating on. But now that we have proof... there's no doubt in my mind that this president is corrupt." She said that same month that President Biden was "“100% guilty” of bribery.

7. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina)

In a June 2023 tweet, Mace contrasted the media's treatment of Biden with its treatment of former President Donald Trump, saying that while the latter "slow walks documents and they want to give him a death sentence," Biden was "caught on tape getting bribed and the Left looks the other way."

8. Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy

During a Republican primary debate last November, the entrepreneur and investor who failed to crack the top 3 in Iowa before abandoning his campaign said President Biden "sold off our foreign policy," and went on to say "Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden got a $5 million bribe from Ukraine." CNN host Dana Bash followed up with Ramaswamy after the debate, where he admitted there was only "circumstantial evidence and testimonial evidence to suggest it."

9. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York)

After Republicans published the 1023 report last summer, the House Republican Conference chair called Smirnov's allegations “the biggest political corruption scandal, not only in my lifetime, but I would say the past 100 years."

10. Former President Donald Trump

Trump has pointed to the 1023 report to justify his claim on Truth Social that "the guy [Biden] got bribed,“ saying that "Evidence revealed Joe Biden took a $5 million bribe from Ukraine.”

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