Trump's DOJ Is Helping a Convicted FBI Informant Tied to Russian Intelligence

[muriel_volestrangler]

For a year, the Trump Justice Department has been on an odd mission: to assist a mysterious former FBI informant with ties to Russian intelligence who ended up in prison for passing disinformation about Joe Biden to the bureau. His crime deeply affected American politics. The false claim he slipped to the FBI—that Biden and his son Hunter each were paid a $5 million bribe by a Ukrainian energy company—became the main evidence in the House Republicans’ reckless and ill-fated impeachment drive against the 46th president.

For pushing this phony tale, Alexander Smirnov, who pleaded guilty of lying to the FBI, was sentenced a year ago to six years of incarceration. (The punishment also covered failing to pay taxes on more than $2 million in income.) But for some strange reason, Trump’s DOJ has been helping him to get out of prison. On March 4, in a move that has drawn no media attention, the department quietly filed an unusual brief—submitted by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche—supporting Smirnov’s attempt to throw out his sentence and withdraw his guilty plea.
...
Smirnov’s case does not seem a strong one, turning on the question of whether the provision that he was “entitled” to credit for time served compelled Wright to make an explicit recommendation to the BOP. It certainly doesn’t come across as a matter that would call for the participation of the deputy attorney general. Yet Blanche signed this filing. Deputy attorneys general usually don’t get involved in such matters.

I asked the Justice Department why it decided to back Smirnov’s appeal. A spokesperson replied, “We have no comment.” I also asked if the DOJ would renew its prosecution of Smirnov if he wins his appeal. I received the same response.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/03/donald-trump-doj-justice-alexander-smirnov-russia-ukraine-burisma-fbi/

The article notes that Smirnov was released for "medical furlough" last November (covered here), but at some time he did return to prison - his lawyer refused to say when.

So he's basically a Putin/Trump operative that the regime is trying to release quietly - I guess a pardon looks too blatant at the current time.

[erronis]

1. Wonkette: Why Is Trump DOJ Trying To Break Lying Joe And Hunter Biden Burisma 'Witness' Out Of The Clink?

https://www.wonkette.com/p/why-is-trump-doj-trying-to-break
Gary Legum

For a president who claims to have been "totally exonerated" on charges that he has secretly colluded with agents of Russia, Donald Trump sure will go to the mat for shady characters who helped his political cause by colluding with Russia.

Y'all may remember the saga of Alexander Smirnov, whom we wrote about quite a bit in the last year or so of the Biden administration. Smirnov was the FBI informant who claimed to have information that the Ukranian energy company Burisma had bribed Joe and Hunter Biden with $5 million each to get Ukraine's prosecutor general fired because he was investigating Burisma for corruption. Pig-fucking Congressman James Comer was going to use Smirnov as his star witness to testify to all this, and the testimony was supposed to be the lynchpin upon which Joe Biden would be impeached, removed from office, and sent to president jail. (His multi-million-dollar beach house in Delaware.) SOOEY!

But then, fiddlebritches and tugglenuts! Smirnov turned out to be lying his ass off. What's more, he admitted he had gotten the lies from Russian intelligence agents who for some reason seemed to want to sow American intelligence with fake info about the Bidens. Smirnov confessed and pleaded guilty to both lying to the FBI and tax evasion. For his trouble, he was sentenced to six years in federal prison. (The indictment made for some fun reading.)

Now, if you are Donald Trump and the passel of smooth-brained idiots who have attached themselves to his ass like barnacles on a boat hull, you might think Whew! Dodged that bullet! Because sure, it certainly looks like the years of investigation and evidence-gathering of Trump knowingly and unknowingly colluding with Russia were accurate! But also, there was nothing tying Smirnov to anyone in Trump's orbit, so at least you have some plausible deniability here.