FBI Informant Linked to Biden Bribe Now Tied to Intel Regarding Trump-Russia Election Interference

Alexander Smirnov has been charged with making up a fake narrative he told the FBI regarding a $10 million bribe that a Ukrainian oligarch allegedly gave to President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The ex-FBI informant entered a not-guilty plea. However, it turns out he may have impacted the contentious Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Donald Trump's Russian connections. As per The Daily Mail, perceptive intelligence analysts have identified a startling resemblance between Smirnov and an anonymous FBI source referenced in a government report on Crossfire Hurricane, the Bureau's previous investigation into Russian intelligence agents' ties to the Trump 2016 presidential campaign.

Reports now suggest that Smirnov may now have been a Russian double agent, given the similarities, there's a chance that Smirnov provided information for both the Biden family's possible corruption charges and the counterintelligence investigation connected to former president Trump. "The timing of all this is highly suspicious. For years the Department of Justice doesn't do anything, then all of a sudden they arrest him. It begs the question, what other cases did he weigh in on?" former Oversight Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz exclusively stated. "I think Congress should be diving into it, as well as the Inspector General." 

Crossfire Hurricane investigators had been keeping an eye on Trump campaign officials' purported contacts with Russian intelligence officers and their activities in Ukraine; Smirnov probably possessed information on this subject. The Vice President of Research at the Government Accountability Institute, Seamus Bruner, said, "The Smirnov fiasco adds to mounting proof that the FBI has been played by Moscow-linked individuals multiple times in recent years. The FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation tried and failed to prove Trump colluded with Russia. Instead it proved that the FBI was easily duped by Moscow-linked operatives, apparently on multiple occasions."

A 'Crossfire Hurricane Intelligence Analyst' was given the materials that the FBI handler obtained from the anonymous informant, according to the report, which has been heavily classified. The analyst did, however, inform their team that the material was not 'anything significant.' The informant was mentioned to be a 'Trump supported' with 'some political meandrings,' as per the same Daily Mail report. 

"No one involved with the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, including [then-senior FBI agent Peter] Strzok, [then-FBI Counterintelligence Division assistant director Edward] Priestap and [then-FBI director James] Comey, knew about this CHS [confidential human source] during the campaign," the DoJ IG wrote. "Priestap told the OIG he 'did not know it was happening,' and that, as the AD of the Counterintelligence Division, he 'absolutely' should have been told that there was an active FBI CHS with access to [redacted]." 

According to a government report by the House Judiciary Committee Republicans, back in 2023, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Scott Brady, testified about Smirnov and FBI's handling of the information provided by him. Brady was asked, "The FBI has said that they had a pre-existing relationship with this source, as well as they had been used in multiple investigative matters, including during the Obama administration. Are you aware of those public statements from the FBI?" Scott replied, "I’m not aware of those, but that’s consistent with my understanding."

"The FBI has also said that they’ve reviewed information that the CHS has provided and found them to be, quote, highly credible. Have you seen those public statements?" the investigator asked. "I'm not aware of those, but that's consistent with my understanding," Brady replied.

On the other hand, "Christopher Steel and Smirnov were both called the best-trusted assets in FBI history by [Bureau directors] Comey and Wray, respectively. And now they both appear to be criminals. I think there needs to be an entire overhaul of how they use sources, and these are just more examples of it," Kashyap Patel, a former National Security Council official and top aide to the House Intelligence Committee told the Daily Mail.