By Steve Neavling
Federal prosecutors were repeatedly warned about the credibility of Alexander Smirnov, the confidential FBI informant who was charged with fabricating bribery claims about President Biden and his son.
In a 2018 sentencing memorandum, attorneys said Smirnov, 43, was “known to the United States as a liar and a fraudster,” CBS News reports.
In that case, which involved the conviction of a married couple who used fake identities to collect reimbursements from the federal government, a close associate of Smirnov repeatedly called him a “liar,” according to court documents.
It wasn’t the first time that Smirnov’s credibility was questioned. For almost a decade, serious questions about Smirnov’s truthfulness have been raised.
In another case, Smirnov was accused of lying.
“Having seen how much he lies, it’s kind of surprising that he has been able to do it for as long as he has without anyone in the government stopping him,” said Joseph Benincasa, a defense lawyer in that case. “They never should have used him again … it’s shocking.”
Law enforcement experts said that the repeated issues that were raised about Smirnov should have prompted an examination of every case in which he was involved.
“I think a review has to be done, either internally by the FBI or, more advisedly, by the Department [of Justice] to find out not only what happened here, but whether there is a systemic problem in the…supervision of informants,” said Michael Bromwich, who is a former Justice Department inspector general.
The FBI didn’t comment for the story.
