House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) was defiant when confronted by CNN’s Manu Raju on referring to a piece of evidence in his probe of President Joe Biden as the “most corroborating” even though that witness behind that evidence is now being charged by the FBI with lying.
Alexander Smirnov was arrested and charged by the FBI last week after previously claiming that Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden received millions from Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Smirnov said Russian intelligence was partly behind his original claims. Hunter Biden sat on the board of the company, and Jordan and other Republicans have claimed Joe Biden was directly involved in son’s foreign business dealings, something both Bidens have repeatedly denied.
On Capitol Hill, Raju asked Jordan about the original filing from the ex-informant and how it could be “corroborating” now. Jordan argued that Smirnov being discredited does not change the core facts he’s focusing on.
“It doesn’t change the four fundamental facts. Hunter Biden was put on the board of Burisma and gets paid a million dollars a year. Fact number two, he’s not qualified to be on the board. He said so himself in an interview with, I don’t know, you or some network,” Jordan told Raju.
The Republican congressman was referring to a 2019 ABC interview with Hunter Biden in which he admitted he likely would not have been on the Burisma board if it were not for his last name. He also said in the interview that he was “completely qualified to be on the board.”
Jordan went on to echo previous accusations that Hunter Biden directly spoke with his father at the request of Burisma executives and Joe Biden then “conditioned” U.S. financial support on remvoing a prosecutor pressuring the company at the time. Hunter Biden has denied these direct talks about business ever occurred with his father.
“Burisma specifically asked Hunter biden, can you weigh in with D.C. and help us deal with the pressure we are facing from the prosecutor. Fact number four, Joe Biden, then he gets called — Hunter Biden calls his dad, according to Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s business partner. Fact number four, Joe Biden goes to Ukraine three days later and conditions the release of the money, American tax money, on the firing of the prosecutor who was applying the pressure to the company that Hunter Biden sat on the board of,” Jordan said.
“You said the 1023 is the most corroborating piece of information you have,” Raju responded, referring to Smirnov’s original claims.
Jordan again said the “fundamental facts” have not changed.
“But it’s not true!” a shocked Raju said.
Hunter Biden’s business partner Devon Archer testified that he had no direct knowledge of Joe Biden being involved with his son’s dealings with Burisma. Archer did describe the Biden “brand” and admitted he and Hunter Biden would sell the illusion of access to the White House. He claimed Hunter Biden would take calls from his father while around executives, but business was never directly discussed. He described it as a “soft abuse of power.”
Watch above via CNN.
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