Biden Urges DOJ to Halt Investigation Following Source’s Indictment

President Joe Biden on Friday called for House Republicans to drop their impeachment inquiry into him a day after the Department of Justice indicted Alexander Smirnov on charges of making false statements.

Smirnov, 43, a confidential source for the FBI since 2000, alleged on an FBI FD-1023 form that Biden and his son Hunter Biden were paid $5 million each from the head of Ukrainian energy giant Burisma Holdings Ltd. to get Ukraine to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma, on whose board Hunter Biden served.

“He is lying, and it should be dropped. And it’s just been an outrageous effort from the beginning,” Biden told reporters from the White House following remarks on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. “We did nothing. No, I’m serious.”

The indictment, which was unsealed Thursday and was brought by special counsel David Weiss, alleges Smirnov made a false statement and created a false and fictitious record, both felonies. Weiss previously charged Hunter Biden with gun and tax crimes, to which the president’s son pleaded not guilty.

The impeachment inquiry launched by House Republicans involves alleged influence peddling and other criminal activity by the president and members of his family. Smirnov’s allegations regarding Burisma were initially seen as a key part of the investigation until it branched into other allegations.

“To be clear, the impeachment inquiry is not reliant on the FBI’s FD-1023,” Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, told CNN on Thursday. “It is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his family’s business dealings.”

Comer said the FBI previously defended Smirnov’s credibility.

“When asked by the committee about their confidence in the confidential human source, the FBI told the committee the confidential human source was credible and trusted, had worked with the FBI for over a decade, and had been paid six figures.”