{"id":2186531,"date":"2024-02-26T08:04:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T13:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-spin-weisss-latest-indictment-into-new-russia-hoax-to-let-biden-skate-in-2024\/"},"modified":"2024-02-26T08:11:34","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T13:11:34","slug":"democrats-spin-weisss-latest-indictment-into-new-russia-hoax-to-let-biden-skate-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-spin-weisss-latest-indictment-into-new-russia-hoax-to-let-biden-skate-in-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats use Weiss&#8217;s latest indictment as a new Russia hoax to protect Biden in 2024"},"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\">30<\/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%2Fdemocrats-spin-weisss-latest-indictment-into-new-russia-hoax-to-let-biden-skate-in-2024%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=2186531&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<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Bidens and \u200bthe Smirnov \u2062Indictment: Another Russia-Collusion \u2064Hoax?<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The same folks who screamed \u201cRussia, Russia, Russia\u201d for years after the Steele dossier \u2064was debunked are now declaring the Bidens have been \u2064exonerated by Special Counsel David Weiss\u2019s indictment of Russian-connected CHS Alexander Smirnov. That indictment charged\u2064 Smirnov with lying about conversations he claimed to have had with executives of the Ukrainian energy giant Burisma, which were later memorialized by Smirnov\u2019s handler in an\u2064 FD-1023.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But the FD-1023 was no Steele dossier. Rather,\u2062 as \u2064National Review\u2019s Andrew McCarthy detailed in his weekend column, \u201cThere is already extensive evidence, having nothing to do with Smirnov, of corrupt Biden-family\u200d influence-peddling.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-826981419\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d7d6d72c7fe54f741a4bd71207d3006e fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d7d6d72c7fe54f741a4bd71207d3006e\"><\/div>\n<p>He\u2019s right. In contrast to \u2063the Russia-collusion hoax, which rested solely on\u2062 the Steele dossier to paint Trump as a Putin patsy, evidence of Biden family corruption is comprehensive, diverse, and comes from their own mouths,\u2064 texts,\u200d emails, and loyalists. The Hunter \u2062Biden laptop, which Weiss has confirmed is authentic, implicates Hunter, Joe, and Jim Biden in multiple influence-peddling schemes. Bank records confirm\u2063 the millions in transfers from Chinese communists, Romanians, Ukrainians, and others, including the wife of the former Moscow \u2063mayor\u200b \u2014 who amazingly avoided being included on the Biden\u2063 administration\u2019s just-released, tougher Russian sanction \u200dlist.<\/p>\n<p>Numerous former business associates of Hunter \u200bBiden \u2014 including \u200bones \u2064who remain loyal to the Biden family \u2014 \u2062confirm Joe Biden\u2063 helped both Hunter and Jim Biden sell the family brand to\u200d foreign buyers, including when he was Barack Obama\u2019s vice president. And bank records, emails, text messages, and other documents recovered \u200cfrom Hunter Biden\u2019s authenticated laptop corroborate their testimony.<\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s appalling to see the Biden corruption deniers\u2019 manipulation of the Smirnov indictment to launch another Russia-collusion hoax, promising \u2063the American public \u200dthat the\u200c entirety of the Biden corruption scandal and\u200d Hunter Biden\u2019s legal problems is a Russian disinformation campaign \u200bdesigned to interfere in the 2024 presidential\u200c election.<\/p>\n<p>Weiss\u2019s \u200b\u201cvery peculiar Smirnov indictment\u201d provided\u2063 the hook for the Democrats\u2019\u200c deception, by gratuitously positing\u200d in court filings that \u2064\u201cSmirnov\u2019s contacts with Russian officials\u200c who are affiliated with Russian\u2063 intelligence services are not benign.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ab3f17ddaa0b994c2b5c086b0e640409 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ab3f17ddaa0b994c2b5c086b0e640409\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cHe is actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November,\u201d Weiss\u200d claimed, which, as I wrote last week, is a \u201cnot-so-subtle suggestion that Smirnov is taking part in a Russian disinformation plot to interfere\u2062 in the upcoming presidential election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Democrats and their \u2062media accomplices pounced, framing Smirnov\u2019s FD-1023 statements as proven Russian disinformation designed \u200dto interfere in\u2063 the 2020 election, and his more recent\u200b reporting as now targeting 2024.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Russian Disinformation\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Notwithstanding\u200d the stupidity of this argument, the false narrative quickly expanded to one that portrayed\u2062 the Hunter Biden indictments and Joe Biden impeachment inquiries\u2064 as premised on \u2064Russian disinformation. NBC News\u2019\u200b Ken Dilanian even used news of\u200c Weiss\u2019s prosecution of Smirnov to depict the info-op about Hunter Biden\u2019s laptop \u200bDemocrats launched to interfere in the 2020\u200c election as justified.<\/p>\n<p>It is now undisputed that the FBI seized Hunter Biden\u2019s abandoned laptop from \u2063a Delaware computer repair store and confirmed the\u200b authenticity of the material contained on the hard drive. Yet Dilanian suggested the 51 former intelligence officials, who \u200chad falsely framed the New York\u2064 Post\u2019s reporting of the laptop as \u201cRussian disinformation,\u201d are vindicated by the allegations against Smirnov.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-01ed43425e1a761a2abc382fdf832755 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-01ed43425e1a761a2abc382fdf832755\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt validates exactly what we were warning about,\u201d Dilanian quoted Marc Polymeropoulos as saying, \u200cwith Polymeropoulos described as \u201ca 26-year\u200b CIA veteran who supervised operations involving Russia.\u201d \u201cOurs was a prudent warning. \u200bThe Russians\u2064 were going to push this \u200bnarrative of Hunter Biden and corruption, to hurt Joe Biden,\u201d Polymeropoulos told his\u2062 NBC collaborator.<\/p>\n<p>No, what Dilanian and more than\u200d 50 other former intelligence officials were doing the month before the 2020 presidential election was deceiving the voters into believing the Hunter Biden\u2063 laptop was Russian disinformation. It wasn\u2019t. On the contrary, \u2062the laptop provided Americans with concrete evidence\u2064 of the Biden family\u2019s corruption \u2014 which, had the FBI, intelligence community, and media not buried,\u2062 would likely have cost Joe Biden the election.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Democrats\u2064 Demonize Barr\u2062 and Brady<\/h2>\n<p>NBC News wasn\u2019t alone in using the Smirnov indictment to bury the Biden-family scandal and cast Republicans \u200das pushing a Russian disinformation campaign. Late last week, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerry Nadler penned a 15-page letter \u2064to Attorney General Merrick Garland and DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, requesting\u2063 an investigation of former U.S. Attorney Scott Brady \u2062and seeking an inquiry of former Attorney General William Barr\u2019s tasking \u200dof Brady to screen\u200d information related to Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>In early 2020, Barr had directed Brady to vet \u200cinformation connected to Ukraine. Barr has explained multiple times that this was to prevent misinformation from interfering in the various <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-admits-there-were-federal-informants-within-the-oathkeepers\/\" title=\"DOJ Admits There Were Federal Informants Within the Oathkeepers\">ongoing investigations related<\/a>\u2062 to Ukraine. Thus, Barr directed Brady\u2019s team to \u2063act as a clearinghouse \u2063to screen material related to the embattled country.<\/p>\n<p>As part of that assignment, Brady\u2019s team requested the FBI search its databases for keywords connected to evidence Rudy Giuliani had \u200bpresented to Brady\u2019s Pittsburgh team.\u2064 That search \u200brevealed a CHS had mentioned, in passing, Hunter Biden\u2019s connection to Burisma. Brady requested the FBI re-interview\u200d the CHS to learn the significance (or insignificance) of that passing reference. The FBI\u2019s handler reinterviewed the CHS \u2014 now-known to be Smirnov \u2014 in June of 2020, with the handler summarizing the content of that interview in the FD-1023.<\/p>\n<p>As part of the House\u2019s impeachment \u200dinquiry, on\u200b Oct. 23, 2023, the Judiciary\u200b Committee conducted a transcribed\u200b interview of Brady. According to Nadler\u2019s letter, during his interview, \u201cBrady repeatedly testified that he had vetted and found credible statements made by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/7-things-the-house-oversight-committee-should-ask-irs-whistleblowers\/\" title=\"7 Key Questions for IRS Whistleblowers by House Oversight Committee\">confidential human \u200dsource<\/a> (CHS), now identified as Alexander Smirnov.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course, on February 14, 2024, a\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/missouri-man-charged-with-threatening-to-murder-2-us-congressmen\/\" title=\"Missouri Man Charged With Threatening to Murder 2 US Congressmen\">federal grand jury<\/a> in the Central District of \u200bCalifornia indicted Alexander Smirnov for making a false statement to the FBI and creating a false and \u2063fictitious record,\u201d Nadler added.<\/p>\n<p>Nadler then accused Brady of lying to the committee, saying, \u201c[I]t seems unlikely that Mr. Brady actually verified any of the information Mr. Smirnov \u2062provided to the \u2063FBI,\u201d and that \u201cMr. \u2062Brady\u2019s testimony to the contrary does not appear to be a mere misstatement \u2014 \u200bhis comments were deliberate, repeated,\u200b and detailed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To support his accusations, Nadler \u2063selectively quoted from a transcript of Brady\u2019s testimony and inaccurately paraphrased other testimony. The Federalist has reviewed the entire transcript, and not only does it prove Nadler\u2019s accusations are fraudulent, it confirms\u2063 the idiocy of the idea that Smirnov was part of some Russian disinformation op to interfere in our elections.<\/p>\n<p>First, in his testimony, Brady\u200c made clear that he had not\u2062 concluded Smirnov was\u2063 credible \u2014 rather that\u200c was the FBI\u2019s conclusion. In fact,\u200c at one point, Rep. Jim Jordan asked the former U.S. attorney whether \u200dhe had \u201creached the same conclusion that \u200dthe FBI did that this individual was credible.\u201d In \u2063response, Brady stressed that his team\u2062 had never made a \u2063finding on the \u200bCHS\u2019s credibility, but rather\u200d \u201crelied on the FBI\u2019s assessment of the credibility of the CHS as a trusted source.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t have any independent knowledge of that,\u201d nor did his office make a representation \u200cof the CHS\u2019s credibility, Brady\u200c explained.<\/p>\n<p>Second, Brady testified that as part of Pittsburgh\u2019s\u2063 briefing of Delaware on the results of their \u200bscreening assignment, his team detailed the investigative\u200c steps they had taken. Brady stressed to the House committee\u2064 that they were limited in \u2064an \u201cability to\u2063 corroborate the\u2062 information that the CHS had provided us\u201d\u200b because they lacked the authority to use a grand\u200b jury to compel testimony or the production of records. Rather, Brady\u2019s \u200bteam was limited to open-source \u2063resources and obtaining information from the FBI and intelligence services to screen material, including the FD-1023.<\/p>\n<p>Barr confirmed to The \u2062Federalist that in assigning \u2063Brady the task of screening material related \u2064to Ukraine, he had not authorized the \u200cuse of a grand jury but allowed for coordination with intelligence services \u2014 precisely as Brady had \u200btestified.<\/p>\n<p>With those limited resources, Brady explained that his team \u201cinterfaced with the CHS\u2019 handler about certain statements relating to travel and meetings to see if\u2062 they were consistent with his\u200d or her understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2064 we were able to identify, we found \u2064that it was consistent,\u201d Brady confirmed. The former U.S.\u200d attorney also testified \u200bthat \u201cthe 1023,\u200c the CHS, \u2064was vetted against known\u2064 sources of Russian disinformation,\u201d\u200d and through interactions with the Eastern District of New \u2063York, Brady\u2019s team\u200d \u201cfound \u2062that it was not \u2062sourced from Russian disinformation.\u201d Coupled with the fact the FBI had\u2064 used the CHS for years and believed him to be a highly credible asset, the Pittsburgh U.S. attorney\u2019s office concluded that \u201cthe 1023 had indicia of credibility sufficient to merit further investigation,\u2064 which \u2062is what Delaware was told,\u201d Brady testified.<\/p>\n<p>The transcript of Brady\u2019s testimony\u200d confirms Nadler is lying to the American public about what the \u200cformer U.S. attorney\u200d told\u200c the\u2064 House Judiciary Committee.\u200d That,\u2062 however, was the lesser of\u2064 Nadler\u2019s two deceptions: In his letter last week, the \u200dNew \u200dYork congressman accused Brady \u2014\u200c and Barr \u2014 of being part of \u201ca deliberate attempt to \u200dlaunder foreign disinformation through the Department of Justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To support that theory, Nadler wrote: \u201cMr. Brady stated that he directed \u2063the FBI to conduct the\u200c June 2020 interview with Mr. Smirnov, who is alleged to\u200b have ties to Russian intelligence, \u2063despite reluctance from FBI agents handling the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From Nadler\u2019s telling, one would think the FBI agents opposed further questioning of Smirnov because they suspected he\u200c was \u200ba Russian \u2064agent or was peddling Russian disinformation. However, the truth was the exact opposite: The\u2062 FBI\u2019s reluctance, as Brady told the House Judiciary\u200d Committee, stemmed from \u201cthe\u200c fact that \u200cthis was an important confidential human source who had provided information to them in the past, that had been used in other investigations. So, \u200cit\u2063 was an important CHS to them.\u201d The FBI was being \u201cvery protective of their CHS\u201d and \u200c\u201ctrying to protect him as \u2064a source so\u200d that they\u2062 could\u2063 continue to use him,\u201d Brady reiterated in his testimony.<\/p>\n<p>Weiss\u2019s indictment and later court filings in the criminal case against Smirnov confirm the FBI continued to use him as a CHS. And from the summary of Smirnov\u2019s various reportings to his handler, the CHS\u200c had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-takes-action-against-hunter-biden-12-other-americans\/\" title=\"Russia Takes Action Against Hunter Biden, 12 Other Americans\">high-level contacts<\/a> with Russians, which would understandably make him an important source.<\/p>\n<p>The idea \u2062that Brady, who actually prosecuted the \u200bGRU, was trying to launder foreign disinformation is\u2064 even more laughable given what he did with the \u200bFD-1023. He didn\u2019t leak it to \u2062the press but instead provided it to Delaware U.S. Attorney David \u2064Weiss\u2019s\u200b office with the recommendation that it be further investigated.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Real Bad Guys<\/h2>\n<p>Had \u200cWeiss\u2019s team\u200c followed Brady\u2019s recommendation, the FD-1023 never would have seen the\u2063 light of day \u200bbecause investigators would have discovered the same inconsistencies his special counsel team belatedly discovered three years \u200clater. And our FBI wouldn\u2019t have continued to use a supposedly Russian-compromised CHS for\u200c three more years.<\/p>\n<p>To argue the charges against Smirnov somehow provide evidence\u2064 that Brady and Barr were pushing Russian \u2062disinformation, or that the indictment converts the authenticated Hunter\u2063 Biden \u2063laptop into\u200d Russian disinformation, isn\u2019t just inexplicable \u2014 it is \u2062insane.<\/p>\n<p>Or maybe it\u2019s not. As the\u2063 saying\u200c goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different \u200cresult. For the Democrats, repeating the Russia hoaxes works. \u200cThey achieve precisely the result \u200dthey want \u2014 an American \u2062public distracted from the disasters of their\u200c policies and convinced that Democrats\u2019 own scandals justify the prosecution or impeachment \u200dof Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>It is Republicans who continue to expect a different result from the same trifecta of restrained prosecution, congressional \u2064investigations, \u200dand <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whitmer-conservative-media-coverage-of-freedom-convoy-downright-dangerous\/\" title=\"Whitmer: Conservative Media Coverage of Freedom Convoy 'Downright Dangerous'\">conservative media coverage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>No more. The only\u200c sane thing left to do \u2063is go scorched-earth.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0b0f452c9afd8780b946fa27dd750dda fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0b0f452c9afd8780b946fa27dd750dda\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How does \u200dthe indictment of Alexander Smirnov connect to\u2063 the Bidens and their alleged involvement in corruption?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  The article examines the indictment of Russian-connected\u2064 CHS Alexander \u200dSmirnov and the attempt by some to manipulate it \u2062as\u200b a means to exonerate the Bidens and discredit allegations of corruption. The author argues that the evidence of Biden family corruption \u200cis extensive and comes\u2062 from various sources,\u2063 including\u2062 the Hunter Biden laptop, \u200dwhich has been confirmed as authentic by Special Counsel David Weiss. The article also criticizes the Democrats and media for using the\u2062 Smirnov indictment to push the narrative\u2064 of Russian disinformation and downplay the Biden family scandal. It further highlights \u200cthe false accusations made against former U.S. Attorney Scott Brady and former Attorney General William\u200c Barr, and provides a detailed analysis of Brady&#8217;s testimony to refute these accusations. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of addressing the allegations of\u200d corruption and not dismissing them as Russian disinformation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After the Steele dossier was discredited, those who once shouted &#8220;Russia, Russia, Russia&#8221; are now asserting that the Bidens have been cleared due to Special Counsel David Weiss&#8217;s indictment of Russian-linked CHS Alexander Smirnov. Smirnov was charged with dishonesty regarding his alleged discussions with Ukrainian energy company executives<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":2186532,"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\/President-Biden-and-First-Lady.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2186531","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\/President-Biden-and-First-Lady.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2186531","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=2186531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2186531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2186532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2186531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2186531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2186531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}