Ex-FBI informant behind fake Biden-Ukraine bribery allegations sentenced to 6 years in prison

The disgraced former FBI informant who falsely accused President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden of taking a $10 million bribe from Ukraine was sentenced Wednesday to six years in federal prison, according to court records.

The disgraced former FBI informant who falsely accused President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden of taking a $10 million bribe from Ukraine was sentenced Wednesday to six years in federal prison, according to court records. The ex-informant, Alexander Smirnov, who is a dual US-Israeli citizen, has been in jail since his arrest last February. The sentencing in Los Angeles wraps up one of the final remnants of special counsel David Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden and related matters. The only order of business that appears to be unsettled is Weiss’ final report, which, per federal regulations, will be submitted to the attorney general, who can then release it to the public. Smirnov’s bombshell indictment – and the subsequent public repudiation of his fake bribery claims – helped derail the Republican impeachment push against Biden. Prosecutors hit Smirnov with additional tax charges in November, and with a trial looming, he pleaded guilty last month to causing the creation of a false FBI record, as well as three counts of tax evasion. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to ask the judge for no more than six years in prison, and Smirnov’s team agreed to ask for no less than four years. Smirnov has also pledged to pay about $675,000 in restitution to the IRS, to make up for his tax evasion. In court filings, prosecutors argued in favor of a six-year prison sentence, calling Smirnov a “liar and a tax cheat” who “betrayed the United States.” Prosecutors said his baseless corruption allegations against the Bidens were “among the most serious kinds of election interference one can imagine,” because they roiled both the 2020 and 2024 election cycles.