A California man who prosecutors said lied to federal officials and pressed false criminal charges against President Biden and his son Hunter has been charged with new tax evasion charges by Special Counsel David Weiss, according to court records. accused of a crime.
Alexander Smirnov served as an FBI informant for nearly a decade, providing information to federal investigators about what his defense attorneys allege in court filings and demonstrating his “longstanding and unwavering loyalty to the United States.” Ta.
However, Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware appointed by President Trump, remained in office during the Biden administration and was later promoted to special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland to continue the Hunter Biden investigation. , the February 2024 indictment alleged that Mr. Smirnov unlawfully gave false testimony. Allegations to FBI agents about Hunter and Biden date back to 2020.
William T. Robles/Associated Press
Mr. Smirnov was accused of lying when he told investigators that the two Mr. Bidens each received $5 million from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. According to charging documents filed against the defendant, the allegations “were known to the defendant to be false.”
Smirnov, who court records show was born in Ukraine, has maintained his innocence, and in court filings his defense team said prosecutors had indicted their client “as a result of Hunter Biden’s refusal to perform an autopsy.” He is accused of doing so. He remains in pretrial detention pending trial.
On November 21, just weeks before Mr. Weiss went to trial on December 3, federal prosecutors in Mr. Weiss’s office filed a lawsuit against Mr. Smirnov, accusing him of illegally concealing millions of dollars from the IRS. filed an indictment in a separate case that did not receive much attention. Income between 2020 and 2022.
Court records say Smirnov used the undeclared income to pay off his Las Vegas apartment, a Bentley and credit card debt. Although prosecutors have not identified the alleged source of the funds, the dates and amounts of payments made to him by one company, identified in the filing as “Company 1,” indicate that Mr. It is consistent with the payments he claims to have received from. He is named in court records filed in another Smirnov lawsuit. The new charges do not indicate wrongdoing by Economic Transformation Technologies Corporation. Other income came from anonymous individuals, according to the new indictment.
“Defendants submitted false Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns containing false fictitious income and expenses to themselves and domestic “It was prepared and filed in the partner’s name,” the 27-page indictment filed last week said.
Newly released court records show that the judge presiding over Mr. Weiss’s original case against Smirnov, District Court Judge Otis Wright, held a status conference on Tuesday and suspended his scheduled trial on the false statements charge. Postponed until May.
In response to the new tax bill, Smirnov’s attorney, David Chesnoff, told CBS News, “Mr. Smirnov intends to defend this lawsuit as vigorously as he did the first one.” ” he said.
A spokesperson for Weiss declined to comment to CBS News.
Prosecutors argued earlier this year that Smirnov’s false claims against the Bidens were documented in an FBI document known as FD 1023. Congressional Republicans previously fought the FBI to release the documents, pointing to the bribery allegations in the documents as evidence of wrongdoing. Investigators now say the charges were false.
Smirnov’s lawyers claim in court records that the case “bears traces of political bias.” But prosecutors pushed back, saying this month that Mr. Smirnov “has never provided the government with any evidence supporting the baseless allegations, and has never submitted any evidence to this court. In fact, the allegations have no basis. “There is no such evidence,” he wrote.
In court records filed earlier this year, the special counsel said Smirnov told the FBI about his contacts with foreign intelligence officials “including Russian intelligence” and that such contacts had occurred recently. Defense attorneys argued in their own court filings that the allegations of ties to Russia were unfounded.
Aside from the specific charges at issue, law enforcement experts told CBS News earlier this year that due to growing doubts about Smirnov’s veracity, they are calling for an audit of all cases in which he has been involved. He said it should start. a CBS News Investigation A paper published earlier this year revealed that serious doubts about Smirnov’s credibility had been raised almost a decade ago.
The FBI declined to comment on CBS News’ findings earlier this year.
Weiss secured the conviction of Hunter Biden in Delaware. illegal gun charge The second California case admitted to Hunter Biden involved a guilty plea by the president’s son. tax fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on both cases later this month.
The conviction and guilty plea in the case came after an initial plea and diversion agreement fell apart and was ultimately thrown out by a federal judge in 2023, a deal between Weiss’ office and Hunter Biden’s legal team. It was the result of a long legal battle between the two parties.
The special counsel has faced criticism from members of Congress and whistleblowers over his handling of the Hunter Biden investigation.
Daniel Kleidman, Scott McFarlane,
and Pat Milton contributed to this report.
