Comer downplays significance of now-indicted informant in Biden impeachment probe
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Sunday stood by his decision to investigate claims from a now-indicted FBI informant as part of the GOP’s probe of the Biden family’s business dealings.
Comer contended that the accusations by longtime FBI informant-turned-criminal Alexander Smirnov — claims which Republicans spent months trying to obtain — were merely “a tip that we should investigate.”
Smirnov was arrested Feb. 14 on two counts of making false statements related to his FD-1023, or the government form containing his unverified statements to FBI agents about bribery claims allegedly involving the Biden family.
“All we knew about Smirnov was the 1023 [form] allegation,” Comer (R-Ky.) told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” defending the move to investigate Smirnov’s statements during the GOP’s House impeachment probe of President Biden.
“We knew that the FBI had never investigated it, and all we knew was what [FBI Director] Christopher Wray told us, that this informant was one of their most trusted and highest paid in the bureau, and [Wray] had been in that position for over 10 years,” Comer said.
The FD-1023 contained allegations that Burisma Holdings owner Mykola Zlochevsky of Ukraine paid Biden and his son Hunter a total of $10 million in bribes for helping to remove Ukrainian former Prosecutor-General Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma.
None of those accusations have been verified, and now they appear dubious.
Republicans had long feuded with the FBI to obtain Smirknov’s FD-1023. Then last summer, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released a copy of the document to the public.
Democrats quickly pummeled Republicans after Smirnov’s arrest. President Biden implored Republicans to end the impeachment inquiry into him involving the alleged foreign influence-peddling, a probe opened last fall and one that is being led by Comer.
“It seems like the only thing House Republicans are capable of uncovering is more and more evidence that clears President Biden of the false allegations they have been promoting for years,” said White House spokesman for investigations Ian Sams to Mediate last week.
“House Republicans need to stop wasting time chasing after baseless smears and instead join President Biden and Democrats in Congress to focus on the issues that actually matter,” Sams said.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said the impeachment probe “essentially ended” after the revelation about Smirnov.
But Comer downplayed the FD-1023 accusations while saying, “We are not going to leave any stone unturned.”
The indictment against Smirnov noted that he sent his handler “a series of messages expressing bias” against Joe Biden. He also allegedly shared a false story believed to derive from Russian intelligence that a hotel in Kyiv, Ukraine, called the Premier Palace recorded damning statements from Hunter, 54..
This was debunked because Hunter “has never traveled to Ukraine,” according to prosecutors.
Hunter earned up to up to $1 million per year from Burisma Holdings, a natural-gas giant, starting in 2014. He has since left the company.
Comer has repeatedly downplayed the significance of Smirnov in the House’s impeachment probe after the news of his indictment.
“At the end of the day, he wasn’t an important part of this investigation — because I didn’t even know who he was,” Comer told Newsmax last week. “All I knew was there was a 1023 [form] that alleged bribery.”
The Kentucky Republican also discussed convicted scam artist Jason Galanis, who congressional aides interviewed from his Alabama prison Friday.
Galanis had bragged to a former colleague that Hunter would “change your access forever” during a time when Joe Biden was serving as vice president.
“What we learned was very similar to what Tony Bobulinski said — that [Galanis] was familiar with the CEFC deal,” Comer said.
Tony Bobulinski is a former partner of the first son who worked with his business dealings regarding Chinese energy giant CEFC. Bobulinski testified earlier this month before the House Oversight and Judiciary committees and is widely regarded as a key witness in the GOP efforts against the president.
“I think the whole premise of what CEFC was paying the Bidens to do was to be able to gain access to all of our markets, not just our energy markets but our farmland, our manufacturing,” Comer speculated.
But Comer has conceded that House Republicans are facing a difficult arithmetic problem if they want to actually impeach the president.
This Wednesday, the first son will appear before the House Oversight and Judiciary committees and deliver hotly anticipated testimony.
Last week, the president’s brother, James Biden, testified and was adamant that his older sibling “never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest” in his business dealings.
