{"id":2177875,"date":"2024-02-16T08:37:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T13:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/special-counsel-indictment-looks-just-as-bad-for-david-weiss-as-the-charged-fbi-informant\/"},"modified":"2024-02-16T08:39:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T13:39:15","slug":"special-counsel-indictment-looks-just-as-bad-for-david-weiss-as-the-charged-fbi-informant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/special-counsel-indictment-looks-just-as-bad-for-david-weiss-as-the-charged-fbi-informant\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Counsel&#8217;s indictment equally damning for David Weiss and the FBI informant"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fspecial-counsel-indictment-looks-just-as-bad-for-david-weiss-as-the-charged-fbi-informant%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2177875&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>On Thursday, Special Counsel David Weiss \u200cunsealed an <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.cacd.915062\/gov.uscourts.cacd.915062.1.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">indictment<\/a> charging a\u2062 longtime confidential \u200chuman source (CHS) with making false statements. But it wasn\u2019t Christopher Steele, the\u200d CHS who threw the country into turmoil for\u200b four years by peddling the fraudulent Steele dossier. Former\u2062 CHS Stefan Halper, who helped further the Russia-collusion hoax, also wasn\u2019t the \u200csubject of the indictment. Nor was CHS Rodney Joffe, who sought to destroy \u200bthe\u2062 Trump presidency with the Alfa Bank\u2062 hoax.<\/p>\n<p>No, it was the CHS who, on June 26, 2020, told his \u2064handler\u2064 that the\u2062 owner of Burisma claimed he \u200bhad paid Hunter and Joe Biden each $5 million in bribes in exchange for protection from being investigated by the Ukrainian prosecutor.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Thursday\u2019s indictment revealed the \u2063name of that \u2063CHS for the first time\u2063 \u2014 Alexander Smirnov \u2014 and alleged that Smirnov\u2019s aforementioned statements, which were memorialized in an FD-1023 report, were\u200d false.<\/p>\n<h2>False \u2064Statements Allegations<\/h2>\n<p>Since news first broke of the existence of \u2063that FD-1023 last summer, House \u200dRepublicans championed the CHS\u2019s reporting\u200c as further evidence of Biden family corruption, while Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley focused on the Department of Justice\u2019s apparent failure to investigate the veracity of\u200c the FD-1023 as part of their probe into Hunter Biden\u2019s business affairs.<\/p>\n<p>Weiss\u2019s indictment presents a powerful case that \u200bSmirnov lied on June 26, 2020, when the CHS told his handler\u200d he\u2019d\u2062 had conversations with Burisma executives in 2015 and 2016: An investigation\u2064 by Weiss\u2019s \u2064team concluded Smirnov did \u2063not meet \u200bthe Burisma executives until March 1, 2017, meaning the earlier conversations could not have occurred. The indictment references introductory emails that established the alleged accurate timing of events,\u2062 as well as travel\u200b records of other individuals, which \u200dcontradict Smirnov\u2019s claims. That\u200b evidence, the\u200d special counsel\u2019s office concluded, \u2064was sufficient to charge Smirnov\u2063 with making false statements and creating a false record.<\/p>\n<p>If Smirnov lied to his handler in June 2020 about his conversations with Burisma executives, the indictment is well deserved. Not only did Smirnov\u2019s alleged lies violate the\u2062 federal criminal \u2062statute that prohibits false statements,\u200d but they also proved especially damaging to society as a whole by interfering\u2063 in\u2062 the House\u2019s impeachment\u200b inquiry.<\/p>\n<h2>What About Other CHS\u200d Lies?<\/h2>\n<p>Smirnov, however, is\u200b but one CHS whose alleged lies have created havoc for our country.<\/p>\n<p>Consider the lies peddled in the Steele \u200bdossier to\u200d our FBI. CHS \u200bChristopher\u200d Steele represented\u200c his sourcing as trusted, reliable, and well-placed when it was none of those things. That dossier led to the DOJ obtaining four unconstitutional surveillance warrants against an innocent\u200c American, resulted in our government spending millions investigating\u2063 a hoax, and impaired the functioning of the Trump administration. Yet even after Grassley and Sen.\u200c Lindsey \u200bGraham\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grassley.senate.gov\/news\/news-releases\/senators-grassley-graham-refer-christopher-steele-criminal-investigation\">referred<\/a> the matter to\u200c the \u200bDepartment of Justice for a criminal investigation, Steele reaped no consequences \u200cfor the lies he sowed.<\/p>\n<p>Then there was CHS \u200cStefan Halper who, according to an\u200c electronic communication, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/07\/21\/justice-wont-be-served-in-spygate-without-john-durham-investigating-more-confidential-human-sources\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> \u2064 the FBI the Russian-born Svetlana Lokhova had \u201clatched\u201d onto Michael Flynn at a Cambridge academic gathering and \u200dthen, \u200dafter the dinner, \u201csurprised everyone and got into [Flynn\u2019s] cab and joined [Flynn] on the train ride to London.\u201d Halper, however, never attended\u200c the dinner, so he\u200d could not have witnessed any of the happenings, and the supposed cab ride was completely fictional.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI\u2019s summary of his debriefing also memorialized Halper claiming Trump volunteer Carter Page asked Halper during a \u2064July 18, 2016, meeting whether he \u201cwould want to join the Trump\u2064 campaign as a \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republicans-urge-biden-to-keep-embassy-in-jerusalem\/\" title=\"House Republicans Urge Biden to Keep Embassy in Jerusalem\">foreign policy adviser<\/a>.\u201d In \u2062an <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/01\/08\/exclusive-carter-page-interview-raises-new-questions-about-inaccuracy-laden-ig-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">exclusive interview<\/a> with \u2063The Federalist \u200cin 2020,\u200c however, Page, \u201cunequivocally denied asking\u2062 Halper \u2018to be a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-supporters-unequivocally-support-extremism-according-to-pentagon-official-overseeing-efforts-to-root-out-extremism\/\" title=\"Trump Supporters Unequivocally Support Extremism, According To Pentagon Official Overseeing Efforts To Root Out Extremism\">foreign policy advisor<\/a> for the Trump \u2063campaign.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Add\u2064 to those two sources Rodney Joffe, the CHS who \u200chelped concoct the Alfa Bank hoax. That fairytale went that the Trump organization had a secret\u200c communication channel with Putin operating through the Russian-based Alfa Bank. Joffe peddled that tale \u2063to the FBI and, with the\u200b help of former\u200d Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, pushed the CIA to investigate this second \u2063Russia hoax just as the Trump presidency was beginning.<\/p>\n<p>As I wrote in 2022: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/07\/21\/justice-wont-be-served-in-spygate-without-john-durham-investigating-more-confidential-human-sources\/\">Justice Won\u2019t \u2063Be Served In\u200c SpyGate Without John Durham Investigating More Confidential Human Sources<\/a>.\u201d But alas, Durham\u2019s investigation ended without \u200bany reckoning for Steele, Halper, or Joffe.<\/p>\n<h2>Weiss Must Go<\/h2>\n<p>While the double standard is infuriating,\u200c assuming the allegations against Smirnov are true, charges are eminently justified.<\/p>\n<p>Also justified? Impeaching David Weiss.<\/p>\n<p>Thursday\u2019s indictment established\u2063 that no one\u200b in U.S. Attorney Weiss\u2019s office investigated Smirnov\u2019s serious claims\u2063 against Hunter\u2063 and Joe Biden \u2062until after Grassley\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grassley.senate.gov\/news\/news-releases\/grassley-obtains-and-releases-fbi-record-alleging-vp-biden-foreign-bribery-scheme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">released<\/a> a copy of the FD-1023 on July \u206320, 2023.\u200d It would be over a month later before FBI investigators would \u200dspeak with\u2064 Smirnov\u2019s handler about the FD-1023. And, according to \u2064the indictment, it was not until\u200c Sept. \u200b27, 2023, that the FBI interviewed Smirnov.<\/p>\n<p>That\u200c timeline confirms the\u200c incompetence of Weiss in handling the investigation into Hunter Biden \u2062because\u2064 in October 2020, \u2063Weiss\u2019s Delaware office received \u201ca substantive\u2064 briefing\u201d concerning the FD-1023 from the Pittsburgh U.S. attorney\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>In the run-up to the 2020 election, then-Attorney General William Barr tasked then-Pittsburgh U.S. \u200bAttorney Scott Brady with screening evidence related to Ukraine. \u2063Last year, Brady <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/10\/30\/david-weisss-office-ignored-thoroughly-vetted-evidence-of-biden-corruption\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testified<\/a> before\u2062 the House Judiciary Committee\u2064 about that screening process, including how his team handled the FD-1023.<\/p>\n<p>Brady explained the Pittsburgh FBI office sought to corroborate anything they could from the FD-1023, but he noted that his office lacked the authority to use a grand\u2062 jury for \u2062the screening process.\u200d Brady\u2019s\u2063 team nonetheless succeeded in obtaining travel records of the CHS and \u201cinterfaced with the CHS\u2019s handler about certain statements relating to \u2063travel and meetings to see if they\u2063 were consistent with his\u200b or her understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What they were able to identify, Brady testified, was consistent\u2062 with\u200b the CHS\u2019s representations in \u200dthe \u200dFD-1023. Additionally, the CHS\u2064 was \u2064a\u200b longtime source for the \u2063FBI and considered\u200b \u201chighly reliable\u201d \u2014 something the indictment confirms given his length of service and the government authorizing Smirnov\u200d to commit crimes while operating as a CHS.<\/p>\n<p>Brady further testified that his office \u2062had vetted the FD-1023 and the CHS\u2062 \u201cagainst known \u2062sources of Russian disinformation.\u201d To conduct that analysis, his team worked with \u200dthe Eastern District of \u2064New York. \u201cIt was found that\u200b it \u2064was not sourced \u200bfrom Russian disinformation,\u201d Brady \u2064told the House Judiciary \u2062Committee.<\/p>\n<p>Then when his team finished screening the FD-1023 and\u2064 other evidence related \u200cto Ukraine, a Pittsburgh assistant U.S. attorney briefed Weiss\u2019s office\u2063 on the evidence, explaining how they \u2063had screened it, and noting they concluded it had \u200b\u201csome indicia of credibility\u201d and\u2062 should be investigated further.<\/p>\n<p>Thursday\u2019s indictment of Smirnov suggests \u2064the Delaware U.S. attorney\u2019s office sat on the FD-1023 for nearly three years, until after Grassley released a copy to the public. Instead, Weiss\u2019s office offered Hunter\u2062 Biden a\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/6-takeaways-from-the-hunter-biden-special-counsel-appointment-you-wont-hear-from-big-media\/\" title=\"6 Key Points About Hunter Biden Special Counsel Appointment Ignored by Mainstream Media\">sweetheart plea agreement<\/a>, which fell apart only because\u2062 the federal \u200bjudge assigned to the case inquired into\u200b the strange arrangement that appeared to give \u2064Hunter Biden \u200bblanket immunity in a \u200cpretrial diversion agreement \u2014 something she had never seen before.<\/p>\n<p>Special Counsel Weiss clearly knows how bad this looks because, in the indictment, he tried to spin the assessment into\u200c the \u200dFD-1023\u2062 as being closed\u2063 out\u200d by the\u200c Pittsburgh FBI office, implying that is why his\u2064 office did not conduct \u2063any further investigative \u2064steps.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy\u2063 August 2020, FBI Pittsburgh\u2062 concluded that all reasonable \u2062steps \u2064had been \u200dcompleted regarding the Defendant\u2019s allegations and that their assessment, 58A-PG-3250958, should be closed,\u201d\u200b Weiss \u2063wrote. \u201cOn August 12, 2020, FBI Pittsburgh was informed \u200bthat the then-FBI \u200cDeputy Director and then-Principal Associate\u200d Deputy Attorney General of the United States concurred\u2063 that it should \u200cbe closed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, as former Attorney General Barr has made <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/06\/07\/exclusive-bill-barr-confirms-rep-jamie-raskin-lied-about-biden-family-corruption-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">clear<\/a> numerous times, the Pittsburgh\u200b office was merely charged with screening the evidence, and \u200dthe investigation into the FD-1023 \u2062\u201cwasn\u2019t closed down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn\u2063 the \u200bcontrary,\u201d Barr <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/06\/07\/exclusive-bill-barr-confirms-rep-jamie-raskin-lied-about-biden-family-corruption-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stressed<\/a>,\u2063 \u201cit\u200d was sent\u200b to Delaware for further investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No\u200d further investigation occurred, however. That alone should justify Weiss\u2019s removal \u2014 \u2062and not merely for what\u2062 he \u2064failed to do,\u200d but\u200d also because the country can\u2019t trust that \u2064his \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sidney-powell-is-an-american-legal-giant\/\" title=\"Sidney Powell Is an American Legal Giant\">special counsel team<\/a> will follow all the leads, including the ones we don\u2019t know about.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> Why have CHSs like Christopher Steele, Stefan Halper, and Rodney Joffe\u200d not\u2062 faced consequences for\u2064 their false statements and role in \u200bperpetuating damaging hoaxes?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Ice should have \u2062actively pursued an\u2064 investigation \u2062into the allegations \u200dmade in the FD-1023, especially \u2064considering \u2064the potential impact it \u2064could have\u2064 had on the House&#8217;s impeachment \u200binquiry.<\/p>\n<p>The indictment also \u2064raises questions about the double standard applied when it comes to holding CHSs accountable \u2063for their \u200cfalse\u200b statements. While \u200cAlexander Smirnov \u2064is now facing charges for his alleged lies, \u2063other CHSs, such as Christopher Steele, Stefan Halper,\u2063 and Rodney Joffe, have escaped any consequences for their false statements and their \u200drole in perpetuating damaging hoaxes.<\/p>\n<p>Steele&#8217;s Steele dossier, which was filled with\u2063 unverified and unreliable\u2062 information,\u200d led to the unjust surveillance of an innocent American and wasted millions of \u2063dollars in \u200binvestigations. \u2063Despite referrals for a criminal investigation, Steele has faced no repercussions.<\/p>\n<p>Halper&#8217;s false claims \u200cabout Svetlana Lokhova and Michael Flynn, as well\u200d as his fabricated story about a supposed cab \u2064ride, further undermined\u200b the integrity of the intelligence community&#8217;s\u200d efforts. Yet, he remains unpunished for his deception.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Joffe&#8217;s \u200cinvolvement in the Alfa \u2064Bank hoax, \u2064which aimed to create\u2063 a false narrative about the \u200cTrump organization&#8217;s \u2063communication with Putin, went unchecked. Joffe&#8217;s actions, fueled \u200dby the assistance of a\u2063 Clinton campaign lawyer, only added to the chaos surrounding the\u2062 Trump presidency.<\/p>\n<p>The lack of accountability for these \u200bCHSs is deeply concerning and highlights the need for a thorough investigation into their actions. John Durham&#8217;s investigation\u2063 into SpyGate was a step in the right direction, but it \u2064fell\u2064 short by failing to address the lies \u2062perpetuated by Steele, Halper, and Joffe.<\/p>\n<p>In light\u2062 of the\u200d indictment\u2064 against Smirnov, it\u2062 is also clear \u200bthat Special\u200d Counsel David Weiss failed to\u200d adequately investigate the serious claims made\u200b in the FD-1023.\u200c The \u2063timeline presented in the indictment reveals a lack\u200c of urgency in pursuing the truth behind Hunter and\u2062 Joe Biden&#8217;s alleged involvement with \u2064Burisma. Weiss&#8217;s office \u2062did not \u2064even begin interviewing Smirnov until \u200dSeptember 2023, over a month after\u200b Grassley made the FD-1023 public.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, the Pittsburgh U.S. attorney&#8217;s office, \u200dled by \u200dScott\u2062 Brady, conducted a \u2063thorough screening process of the evidence \u200drelated to Ukraine, \u2064including the FD-1023. \u2062Brady&#8217;s team found the CHS \u200cto be highly reliable and concluded that the FD-1023 had \u200ccredibility and\u200d should be \u200bfurther investigated. It is baffling \u200bthat\u2063 Weiss&#8217;s office did not take immediate action when presented \u200dwith such evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Given these failures, it\u2062 is \u2063evident \u2063that David Weiss should \u200bbe impeached for his incompetence in\u2064 handling \u200bthe\u2063 investigation \u200dinto Hunter\u200b Biden. The public deserves a U.S. \u2062attorney who will diligently pursue the truth, regardless of political implications. Weiss&#8217;s lack of\u2064 action raises concerns about \u200bpotential bias and undermines the credibility of his office.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the recent indictment against Alexander Smirnov highlights the need \u200bfor\u2062 accountability when it comes to CHSs \u2062who\u2064 make false statements. \u200cThe lack \u200dof consequences\u200b for individuals like Christopher Steele, Stefan Halper, and Rodney Joffe only further erodes public trust in our\u2063 institutions.\u2062 The double\u200b standard applied in these cases is deeply troubling\u2062 and\u200c warrants a thorough investigation \u200bto ensure justice is served. Additionally,\u200c the failures of U.S.\u2062 Attorney \u2063David Weiss in\u2064 handling the investigation into Hunter Biden&#8217;s alleged corruption \u200crequire his impeachment, as they demonstrate a lack of commitment to pursuing the truth and\u2064 upholding the\u2063 integrity of the office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Thursday, Special Counsel David Weiss revealed an indictment accusing a confidential human source (CHS) of lying. Surprisingly, it wasn&#8217;t Christopher Steele, the CHS responsible for the controversial Steele dossier. Another former CHS, Stefan Halper, who played a role in promoting the Russia-collusion narrative, was also not implicated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":2177876,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/FBI-J-photo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2177875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/FBI-J-photo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2177875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2177876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2177875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2177875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2177875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}