Conservative media promoted unsubstantiated bribery claims against members of the Biden family that originated from ex-FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who was recently indicted for inventing such allegations. Now some of those same figures are downplaying the major role his claims played in buttressing the Republicans’ impeachment effort against President Joe Biden.
· Conservative echo chamber repeatedly elevated Smirnov as credible, with some portraying his bribery claim as central to the Biden impeachment effort
- Right-wing media repeatedly described Smirnov as a credible source. Again and again, Fox News hosts and guests presented Smirnov’s unconfirmed claims as fact and pushed for investigations into the Biden family. The unverified Smirnov allegations fit perfectly into Fox’s yearslong effort to smear President Biden and his family with allegations of corruption. [Media Matters, 2/16/24]
- House Oversight Committee chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) hyped Smirnov as “a trusted, highly credible informant.” In a press release, Comer announced that he would “initiate contempt of Congress proceedings” against the FBI for refusing to hand over a document containing Smirnov’s accusations against the Bidens. [House Oversight Committee, 6/5/23]
- House Judiciary Committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) called Smirnov’s claim “the heart of” the impeachment effort against Biden. Jordan also told Fox News in January that “the most corroborating evidence we have is the 1023 form from this highly credible confidential human source.” [NBC News, 2/16/24; HuffPost, 2/15/24]
- House Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO): “Smoking gun: The D-1023 form showing proof that Joe and Hunter Biden were involved in the $5,000,000 bribery scheme with a Burisma executive has been released by Senator Chuck Grassley.” [Twitter/X, 7/20/23]
· Right-wing media figures who promoted Smirnov’s claim now dismiss his alleged lies and arrest as unimportant in the GOP case against Biden
· Sean Hannity
Then
- Fox News host Sean Hannity promoted Smirnov’s claim in 85 segments. Of those 85 segments, 28 were Hannity monologues. [Media Matters, 2/13/24]
Now
- Hannity: “Alexander Smirnov was not to be trusted” but that “doesn’t negate any part of the Biden family syndicate.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 2/16/24]
John Solomon / Just the News
Then
- Former Fox contributor John Solomon promoted Smirnov’s accusations on Hannity’s radio show and again built up Smirnov’s credibility by calling him a “trusted informant.” Asked about his “bribery scandal allegation” against Joe Biden, Solomon told Hannity, “Well, it also matches what the FBI received from its trusted informant in a 1023 informant report in June of 2020.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 9/6/23]
Now
- Solomon’s Just the News: “Attempts to discredit impeachment inquiry overlook concrete evidence.”