U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley took credit Wednesday for prodding the FBI to investigate whistleblower claims made by Alexander Smirnov — claims that have since resulted in the former federal informant being arrested on charges that he fabricated a bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden.
“Just think of what I did for the people this country for making sure that somebody was misleading the FBI is no longer going to mislead them,” Grassley told Iowa reporters during a weekly press call. “And think what I did for the people of this country to make sure that the FBI is doing its job.”
Last year, Grassley publicly released an internal FBI document known as an FD-1023 that contained unconfirmed allegations from a confidential source claiming that the CEO of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, paid a $10 million bribe to the Bidens.
The claims had been at the center of the U.S. House Oversight Committee’s investigation into Biden and his family’s business dealings. And once Grassley made the document public, Republicans seized on it, in calling for Biden’s impeachment.
But the informant, Smirnov, was indicted in February and charged with two counts of making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record for information he gave to the FBI. His lawyers say he could be sentenced to 15 to 21 months in prison if convicted.
A federal judge on Feb. 26 ordered Smirnov to be jailed while awaiting trail because of concerns he could flee the country.
Grassley said Wednesday his role in the saga has been misunderstood, arguing his only goal was to ensure the FBI was following up on a lead that he believed they had been ignoring.
“Then they interview this Smirnov, and they find out he's been lying to them,” Grassley said. “Well, they've been paying him for 10 years. … So, the bottom line of it is, if I hadn't made this public, this guy would still be working for the taxpayers and still probably being paid for it and still be lying to them.”
Grassley did not comment Wednesday on whether the charges against Smirnov have undermined the House GOP’s impeachment efforts.
“Just think of what I did for the people this country for making sure that somebody was misleading the FBI is no longer going to mislead them,” Grassley told Iowa reporters during a weekly press call. “And think what I did for the people of this country to make sure that the FBI is doing its job.”
Last year, Grassley publicly released an internal FBI document known as an FD-1023 that contained unconfirmed allegations from a confidential source claiming that the CEO of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, paid a $10 million bribe to the Bidens.
The claims had been at the center of the U.S. House Oversight Committee’s investigation into Biden and his family’s business dealings. And once Grassley made the document public, Republicans seized on it, in calling for Biden’s impeachment.
But the informant, Smirnov, was indicted in February and charged with two counts of making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record for information he gave to the FBI. His lawyers say he could be sentenced to 15 to 21 months in prison if convicted.
A federal judge on Feb. 26 ordered Smirnov to be jailed while awaiting trail because of concerns he could flee the country.
Grassley said Wednesday his role in the saga has been misunderstood, arguing his only goal was to ensure the FBI was following up on a lead that he believed they had been ignoring.
“Then they interview this Smirnov, and they find out he's been lying to them,” Grassley said. “Well, they've been paying him for 10 years. … So, the bottom line of it is, if I hadn't made this public, this guy would still be working for the taxpayers and still probably being paid for it and still be lying to them.”
Grassley did not comment Wednesday on whether the charges against Smirnov have undermined the House GOP’s impeachment efforts.
Grassley takes credit for prodding FBI to investigate Biden whistleblower charged with lying
House Republicans have frequently pointed to the now-debunked information Smirnov provided in their efforts to impeach Biden.
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