Internet says 'lock them all up' as arrest of FBI informant looms over GOP's grilling of Joe Biden’s brother

WASHINGTON, DC: Republicans who planned to question President Joe Biden's brother on Wednesday, February 21, were forced to defend themselves due to the indictment of the FBI informant, whose accusations against the president served as the basis for the GOP's impeachment investigation, only a few days ago.

During a lengthy questioning session lasting over eight hours behind closed doors, Republican members of the House Oversight Committee questioned James Biden about years' worth of domestic and international financial transactions.

The goal of the intensive questioning was to push the Republicans' claims of financial misconduct by the president and his family. 

Alexander Smirnov was charged with lying to the FBI

However, the arrest of Alexander Smirnov last week—the FBI informant who supplied crucial evidence for the GOP's accusations of corruption and influence peddling against the president—loomed big over the day's events.

Smirnov was accused by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of creating allegations against President Biden, including the one that he and his son, Hunter Biden, took a $5 million bribe from a Ukrainian energy business, to lie to the FBI.

With the publication of a DOJ document on Tuesday, which revealed that Smirnov informed the agency he had information about Hunter Biden from "officials associated with Russian intelligence," the maelstrom around Smirnov intensified.

These events were ill-timed for Republicans, giving Democrats more fodder for their assaults on the impeachment process while making GOP leaders defend the inquiry at the very moment they were embracing the opportunity to question the president's brother in person.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, informed reporters during a break in Wednesday’s deposition on Capitol Hill saying, "The impeachment investigation essentially ended yesterday, in substance if not in form, with the explosive revelation that Mr. Smirnov’s allegations about Ukrainian Burisma payments to Joe Biden were concocted along with Russian intelligence agents."

He further added, "It appears like the whole thing is not only, obviously, false and fraudulent, but a product of Russian disinformation and propaganda. And that’s been the motor force behind this investigation for more than a year."

Republicans downplay the significance of Alexander Smirnov’s arrest

The significance of Smirnov's arrest is being minimized, as the Republicans maintain that their case is still valid despite the informant's indictment.

"Well, I mean, it is what it is. It doesn’t change the fundamental facts," Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chair of the Judiciary Committee, told reporters.

After pointing to the GOP allegations against Hunter Biden and his tenure on the board of the Ukrainian oil firm Burisma, he stated about Smirnov, "Those facts, they don’t change regardless of what this confidential human source is saying."

Turning the tables on the FBI, some have also questioned why the agency had hired Smirnov for such a long time and why Republicans and Democrats who were briefed on his charges had regarded the confidential source as reliable.

Jordan stated, "This is the guy they paid, I think since 2010, so 14 years they’ve been paying this guy, and he’s a trusted source, and now we find out he isn’t."

The Republicans will continue their investigation because, in the words of veteran prosecutor Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.), "They just don't trust the DOJ to have it right with Smirnov."

He said, "I’m a member of Congress, I’ve been a prosecutor for five years, and I don’t trust the criminal justice system. I don’t trust New York judges. I don’t trust the prosecutors in Georgia. I don’t trust the DOJ."

Internet reacts as the maelstrom around Alexander Smirnov intensifies

Several internet users reacted to the situation as the arrest of Alexander Smirnov loomed over the GOP grilling of Biden’s brother. A person wrote on X, "50 years. Lots of favors" whereas one added, "Lock him up lock him up lock them all up."

Another person added, "I predict they come up with some bulls**t to charge Bobalinski" while one mentioned, "Where did he and the family get their millions? Nobody seems to want to demand the answer to that... because they KNOW they are crooks!"

A user also stated, "It’s hard to believe that MAGA would follow a criminal's false story".

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.