WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI informant is set to plead guilty on Monday to lying about a phony bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden and his son Hunter that became central to the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress.
Alexander Smirnov is expected to make the plea in Los Angeles to a felony charge in connection with the bogus story, along with a tax evasion charge stemming from a separate indictment accusing him of concealing millions of dollars of income, according to court papers.
Smirnov has been behind bars since his arrest in February on charges that he told his FBI handler that executives from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma had paid President Biden and Hunter Biden $5 million each around 2015.
Prosecutors and the defense have agreed to recommend a sentence of between four and six years in prison, according to the plea agreement.
Smirnov had been an informant for more than a decade when he made the explosive allegations about the Bidens in June 2020, after “expressing bias” about Joe Biden as a presidential candidate, prosecutors said.
But Smirnov had only routine business dealings with Burisma starting in 2017, according to court documents. An FBI field office investigated the allegations and recommended the case be closed in August 2020, according to charging documents.
No evidence has emerged that Joe Biden acted corruptly or accepted bribes in his current role or previous office as vice president.
While his identity wasn’t publicly known before the indictment, Smirnov’s claims played a major part in the Republican effort in Congress to investigate the president and his family, and helped spark a House impeachment inquiry into Biden. Before Smirnov's arrest, Republicans had demanded the FBI release the unredacted form documenting the unverified allegations, though they acknowledged they couldn’t confirm if they were true.
During a September 2023 conversation with investigators, Smirnov also claimed the Russians likely had recordings of Hunter Biden because a hotel in Ukraine’s capital where he had stayed was “wired” and under their control — information he said was passed along to him by four high-level Russian officials.
But Hunter Biden had never traveled to Ukraine, according to Smirnov's indictment.
Smirnov claimed to have contacts with Russian intelligence-affiliated officials, and told authorities after his arrest earlier this year that “officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story” about Hunter Biden.
The case against Smirnov was brought by special counsel David Weiss, who also prosecuted Hunter Biden on gun and tax charges. Hunter Biden was supposed to be sentenced this month after being convicted at trial in the gun case and pleading guilty to federal charges in the tax case. But he was pardoned earlier this month by his father, who said he believed “raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.”
In this courtroom sketch, defendant Alexander Smirnov speaks in Federal court in Los Angeles, Feb. 26, 2024. (William T. Robles via AP)
FILE - Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, left, walks out of his lawyer's office in downtown Las Vegas after being released from federal custody Feb. 20, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)
The griping Vatican-based thriller “Conclave” about picking a new pope and Stephanie Hsu starring in the dark comedy “Laid” as a woman whose former lovers keep unexpectedly dying are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Dwayne Johnson stars as Santa’s bodyguard in the movie “Red One,” internet star MrBeast hosts his own reality competition show on Prime Video called “Beast Games” and Little Big Town host a Christmas special on NBC.
– What goes on inside the Vatican before white smoke flows out of the Sistine Chapel? “Conclave” (streaming now on Peacock), about the election of a new pope, is a gripping thriller that imagines how the gathering of cardinals could go. The film, directed by Edward Berger and based on Robert Harris’ 2016 novel, stars Ralph Fiennes as the cardinal tasked with running the conclave. Nominated for six Golden Globes, “Conclave” is a major Oscar contender and one of the rare recent adult-oriented dramas to succeed at the box office. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called it “a deliriously fun watch in the way that tense, smart thrillers with an ensemble of great actors can be.”
– It was easy to miss Clint Eastwood’s “Juror No. 2” in cinemas, but the 94-year-old’s latest arrives Friday, Dec. 20 on Max. And “Juror No. 2,” despite its small theatrical footprint, has been much praised by critics. In it, Nicholas Hoult plays a juror in a murder trial who’s struggling with a moral dilemma.
– A sled-full of new Christmas movies arrive every year, with hopes of establishing themselves as a new holiday classic. Of them, “Red One” (now streaming on Prime Video) is distinguished by being the biggest, most garishly wrapped one yet. In the $250 million movie, Dwayne Johnson stars as the bodyguard for a more militaristic Kris Kringle (J.K. Simmons), who teams up with a deadbeat hacker (Chris Evans) to rescue Santa after he’s kidnapped. In my review, I wrote that “there is ample time during ‘Red One’ to ponder who, exactly, put a Marvel-ized Santa on their wish list.”
– Mati Diop’s “Dahomey,” one of the year’s nonfiction highlights, is not to be missed. Diop, the French Senegalese director of “Atlantics,” documents the return of 26 art works seized by French troops during the 1890s from the African kingdom (now southern Benin). In the film, currently streaming on Mubi, Diop casts a wide and fantastic net in chronicling their voyage home, with a wide array of voices debating the ethics and meaning of reparations — including even those of the Dahomey treasures, themselves.
— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle
— ’Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. That is, until Monday, when “Little Big Town’s Christmas at the Opry” airs on NBC, available to stream on Peacock the following day! What says “happy holidays” more than some of country music’s modern greats bringing their twang from the famous Nashville stage to the family living room? A group of great guests, probably – and those include Dan + Shay, Kelsea Ballerini, Sheryl Crow, Kirk Franklin, Josh Groban, Kate Hudson and Orville Peck.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
— A new docuseries on Apple TV+ reveals the habits and behaviors of animals in the wild. Filmmakers spent three years tracking 77 unique species in 24 countries, and capturing everything from jumping spider courtship dances to a killifish in Trinidad breathing through its tail when out of the water. Hugh Bonneville narrates “The Secret Lives of Animals, " debuting Dec. Wednesday.
— Stephanie Hsu stars in a new dark comedy for Peacock as Ruby, a woman whose former lovers keep unexpectedly dying in mysterious, outrageous ways. Ruby and her best friend AJ (Zosia Mamet, doing her wry observational bit) dig into the past to make sense of what’s happening and save lives. The process prompts Ruby to learn hard truths about herself. “Laid” is based on an Australian series. There are also a number of fun guest stars including Finneas O’Connell, Chloe Fineman and Josh Segarra. “Laid” premieres Thursday on Peacock.
— Internet star MrBeast, (real name: Jimmy Donaldson) whose YouTube channel has more subscribers than any other — is now the host of his own reality competition show on Prime Video called “Beast Games.” Contestants wear tracksuits and compete in wild games for a $5 million prize. It’s like “Squid Game,” without the dying. “Beast Games” premieres Thursday on Prime Video.
— Alicia Rancilio
— Season 2 of “Squid Game” drops on Netflix the day after Christmas, but you and your family can get an early start if you’re already itching for a fight to the death. The streamer is inviting subscribers to download Squid Game: Unleashed, an online battle royale for up to 32 players. It includes familiar season 1 competitions like Glass Bridge and Red Light Green Light, as well as deadly new devices like buzzsaws, wrecking balls and lava pits. Last one to survive ... well, you don’t get any money but at least you don’t get squished. The contest begins Tuesday, Dec. 17, on iOS and Android.
— Lou Kesten
Little Big Town performs during the 92nd annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
This image released by Focus Features shows Ralph Fiennes in a scene from "Conclave." (Focus Features via AP)
This combination of images shows promotional art for the series "Beast Games," from left, the film "Juror #2," and "The Secret Lives of Animals." (Prime/Warner Bros./Apple TV+ via AP)
