Good ol' Fox News:
Sean Hannity's Fox News show ran with this informant's claims in at least 85 separate segments last year, including 28 monologues. He said they proved Joe Biden engaged in "public corruption on a scale this country has never seen before.” https://t.co/5ziUvNOwt4 https://t.co/tzBXuJd1p4
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) February 15, 2024
The informant in question is Alexander Smirnov, who retailed a preposterous story to the FBI about Burisma paying bribes of $5 million each to Hunter and Joe Biden for "protection." James Comer and Chuck Grassley got wind of this and demanded a copy of the FBI interview so they could investigate whether Smirnov's accusation was being taken seriously. The whole thing took the right-wing noise machine by storm.
Today Smirnov was indicted for lying to the FBI. The indictment came from David Weiss, the special prosecutor in the Hunter Biden case. Smirnov was arrested at the Las Vegas airport after arriving from overseas.
Hard to believe, isn't it? It seemed like such a promising lead, something that could put a bow on the whole Biden Crime Family story. But no one is giving up. Biden is guilty of something, by God, and you may rest assured that Comer and Hannity won't rest until they find it.
POSTSCRIPT: Chuck Grassley is already implying that something is fishy:
"This indictment isn’t enough — the public has a right to see all the underlying evidence supporting the Biden Justice Department’s case. The Biden administration must show its work."
That's what a trial is for, Chuck.
Everyone should know Smirnov is unreliable. Stick with Grey Goose.
Absolut. Ely.
Where's the proof?
emptywheel has details if anyone is interested.
https://www.emptywheel.net/2024/02/15/the-gaps-in-leo-wises-belated-indictment-of-alexander-smirnov/
The absence of evidence is just proof how deep the conspiracy goes.
Weiss was the same prosecutor that oversaw the original Hunter investigation. Back then both him and Hunter Biden had already agreed on a plea deal. Hunter had agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges, and to have the gun charges also as a misdemeanor that allowed him to stay out of jail as long as he stayed on probation for 2 years and completed a specific rehab program. That already seemed pretty harsh relative to people with similar charges, considering that for the tax evasion, he had already paid them back.
Regardless of this, Republicans threw a fit, and the Trump appointed Judge overseeing the case rejected the plea deal, so Biden plead not guilty instead, Weiss asked to be named special prosecutor to be able to start over outside Delaware, and that's how we ended up here.
The evidence is ubiquitous in its absence.
So I have a question that maybe Kevin or someone else could help answer. Weiss withdrew his plea agreement with Hunter Biden because he claimed that their was an ongoing investigation and Hunters lawyers didn't want to agree to a deal under those circumstances. Was this the ongoing investigation? Now that this inquiry seems to have collapsed might Weiss be willing to agree to the previous deal. All he has now are tax charges against Hunter even though Hunter has already paid the back taxes. Not much of a case left.
Sorry posted my reply to you on the wrong comment.
To expand a little on @Solar above, the way I remember it is that the Delaware judge had questions about how the plea deal would be supervised, which exposed different understandings about what the deal took off the table-- HB's side thought, iirc, that there'd be nothing more, and specifically on the taxes, but Weiss said essentially "the hell you say, I never promised you a rose garden" or words to that effect and withdrew the offer. Lowell says, though, it had gotten too far to do that, and I think that's still at issue. In the meantime, given that Weiss said there was no deal after all, Hunter had to change his plea.
Given that, I think the ongoing investigation Weiss mentioned was of Hunter and probably the one in LA, the tax charges he then filed as criminal ones (if I have that right). At the time everybody commenting on it said criminal charges were really unusual and especially after taxes and penalties had been paid already.
Marcy Wheeler (@swamiredux above for a link) has been following this *extremely* closely, probably more than anyone not directly involved with the case. If I'm reading her right, she thinks a) the plea deal got reneged on because of political interference by people like Grassley and other trumpists, which in nice language is certainly improper, and b) these Smirnov charges are a misdirection aimed at distracting attention away from the political interference, basically to avoid having to turn over discovery material from inside the prosecution office that would show the political influence. IOW (I think) Weiss is falling on his sword to protect the political players who pushed him so far beyond the evidence. But also trying to deflect to the FBI for letting themselves get taken in, I guess.
Sadly for him it makes him look like a buffoon and he could take a lot of shit from Comer and his ilk for not producing the goods-- I doubt they'll swallow the idea that Smirnov was so good he'd have fooled everybody. He could end up professionally ruined, actually. And I think he'll have a hard time showing that the case against Hunter is predicated on other solid evidence given all kinds of questions about the laptop data.
But on the bright side it may mean that his office could actually get a conviction. Just the wrong one.
Wheeler's been pointing out discrepancies in how, when, and who accessed the data from Hunter's accounts. Seems it could get rough for Weiss if he intends to follow through with a trial.
"He could end up professionally ruined, actually."
I burst out laughing when I read this. It *should* result in Weiss being professionally ruined, of course. But, in this universe, where IOKIYAR rules and the GOP is nothing but a clown show? Weiss can only fail upwards. He stands a greater chance of being named a Supreme Court justice than he does of being "professionally ruined" on the right.
Glad you got a laugh, but think about it. Hur took a nothingburger and made it a media-featured smear that'll be out there all year. That's how it's done! *He'll* get the plum posts if he wants them, or the speaking gigs, the "fellowships," the board seats, if he opts for the bucks. He's pretty well golden now.
This dude is no Hur. He was supposed to smear the family name and manufacture colorable ties between Hunter and Joe. Instead he's blown up his leading "evidence" and has to try to salvage his "investigation" with laptop data that's probably not admissible. He also knows about those political contacts with his shop. Which means nobody will nominate him to a senate-approved position where he'll be asked about them.
That leaves White House slots if trump wins, or congressional staff if not. And that depends on how well he shields the political people who were leaning all over him. If he doesn't, he's toast; if he does, maybe there's some gratitude.
Could gratitude get him a do-nothing slot at a GOP megafirm like Jones Day? Could he do a DC practice that relies on knowing how DOJ works? Anything's possible. But the first rule, I think, is you have to succeed at the smear, and his operation is devolving into a clown show that nobody will want to be reminded of.
Plus, who could be more vicious than an incompetent clown who's been given a high-profile assignment like smearing a president enough to cost the election, and has his foot-soldier fail spectacularly? I mean Comer. Is he the kind of guy who'll want to promote Weiss? Or is it more likely he'll want him flayed?
So that's why I said his prospects aren't so bright.
Are you confusing the House committee’s ’investigation’ with David Weiss’ tax and gun cases? The latter don’t depend on anything alleged to have been found on the laptop. Weiss never focused on the Burisma fable. He can be faulted for the collapse of the plea agreement.* The pursuit of the bribe lie and all the other accusations against the President are purely on the House Republicans.
*I’ve never heard a believable explanation of this episode. Why would the prosecution ever think that the defense was agreeing to a deal that wasn’t going to close the investigation?
Good question, but as I think about it, the nexus probably is in Lowell's countersuits for selective/vindictive prosecution and over reneging on the plea deal. As I understand it, the suits open the door for anything related to political interference or other improper predication, and that's where we get to the laptop and the 1023 and all that.
The tax and gun charges don't seem to depend on the interviews or laptop evidence (structured that way?), but those were elements of Weiss's investigation, I believe (allegedly, in the laptop case), that the committee got hold of. And the countersuits mean they and related materials are discoverable and basically force Weiss to show that the dodgy materials didn't play any role in developing either of the actual cases (fruit of the poison tree, etc).
Am I remembering right that Weiss didn't negotiate the plea deal, that it was one of his underlings? Maybe he came up with that interpretation after the fact knowing it wouldn't be acceptable, because by that time he'd decided to kill the deal and prosecute instead.
Not sure at all that the FBI was taken in. When the Republicans subpoenaed the Form 1023, iirc, the FBI cautioned that it was merely a record of what an informant said; the agency implied, if it didn’t directly state, that there were other pertinent documents. The Republicans only wanted the accusation, not anything that that could contain evaluation by the agency. I think now we know why.
The repulsives are turning over every piece of trash in their slimy pond to find anything on Biden. Someone needs to tell them that Joe doesn’t swim in their slimy pond.
Why does Biden's dog keep biting Secret Service agents? What has he got to hide?
They couldn't care how many Secret Service agents he bit. Commander was banished because Muslims loathe dogs. Obama refused to enter the White House to run the government until all the dogs were gone.
Banished. Like a dog.
Not sent to Korea?
/s
Dog meat has been outlawed in Korea. More evidence that Obama is really in charge!
/s
That's what a trial is for, Chuck.
Oh please! Everyone knows those trials are rigged! Some of them are happening in New York! And some have Black prosecutors! How can those be fair?!?
Trying to convince cultists that their cult faith may not be firmly grounded may be THE most wasted breath -- not to mention those poor pixels -- evarrrr.
You forgot the worst of it. Some of the black prosecutors are having black sex.
Grassley's mitts have been all over this "impeachment investigation" from the start, which was always way beyond Comer's limited intellectual capabilities. Alumni from Grassley's 'Fast & Furious' operation staff Empower Oversight, the non-profit which has run and represented Comer's "courageous IRS whistleblowers". The mystery is why Democrats and serious journalists (if any remain) haven't been devoting time and resources to exposing the massive ratfucking operation.
Digging through a pile of horseshit, looking for a pony.
Fox Newz theme song.
I bet "Chuck" isn't so hot and bothered about "the Public" having the right to see all the slime, blood and feces collected by Special Prosecutor Jack, is he? "a trial" isn't in Chuckie's wheelhouse on THOSE charges, is it?
One of these days, I hope, fox news will have financial trouble and implement massive layoffs.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/feb/15/layoffs-vox-media-nowthis-intercept
"The 2024 evisceration of journalism and media jobs continued on Thursday with staff cuts at Vox Media’s NowThis, and at the Intercept..."
Can't say I mind really. The Intercept was occasionally interesting but not a go to place for anything. I'd never heard of Nowthis.
"The latest round of downsizing comes at a markedly brutal time for publications supported by advertising revenue linked to online traffic. Not only is traffic down, in part a consequence of a decline in referrals from search engines, but the rates advertisers are willing to pay for page views are also declining."
It's nice to see advertisers finally realize they are being scammed. It's time for this whole industry to go through massive reductions. No one wants to pay to read nonsense.
The steady decline of cable viewers is an existential threat to FoxNews. If they had to rely on streaming revenue alone, the anchors would have to share hairpieces and extensions.
And if you still have cable, enjoy paying for FoxNews.
https://unfoxmycablebox.com/
"This indictment isn’t enough — the public has a right to see all the underlying evidence..."
Holy hell. Grassly and the GOP were calling for impeachment based on a single affidavit from this clown. Now they want to talk about "underlying evidence?"
Ridiculous.
They could have subpoenaed all documents related to the CHS informant’s 1023, but they specifically chose not to. They must have had some idea that the accusations didn’t hold up under further scrutiny.
Grassley should be more worried about the suborning perjury charges that should be heading his way.
The repugs keep harping at Biden's age but none say anything about spring chicken grassly's age.
Democratic presidents are always guilty until proven innocent.
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