Jim Jordan, who leads Republicans’ impeachment efforts, says ‘it is what it is’ of Russian intelligence revelation –

‘It is what it is,’ Republican impeachment leader says of Russian intelligence revelation

The Republican House judiciary committee chair, Jim Jordan, downplayed revelations from the former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov that Russian intelligence had passed him “a story” about Hunter Biden.

“It is what it is,” Jordan told reporters, when asked about Smirnov’s statement to the FBI following his arrest in Las Vegas earlier this month. Jordan, whose committee is leading the impeachment investigation into the president, then went on to insist that evidence shows corruption by Joe Biden and his son, though none of what Republican investigators have turned up actually proves that.

Here’s more from Jordan:

Rep. @Jim_Jordan on the indictment of ex-FBI informant Alexander Smirnov: "It is what it is. It doesn't change the fundamental facts." pic.twitter.com/fobfw5SWyj

— CSPAN (@cspan) February 21, 2024

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In his opening statement to the House lawmakers leading the impeachment charge against Joe Biden, his brother James Biden said the president has never been involved in his business dealings, the Washington Post reports.

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The testimony refutes Republican claims that Joe Biden has used his official positions to assist his relatives and profit corruptly from their business dealings.

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“I have had a 50-year career in a variety of business ventures,” James Biden told the House oversight committee at his behind-closed-doors deposition today. “Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities. None.”

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Here’s more, from the Washington Post:

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NEW: In James Biden's opening statement, he claims:

"Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities."

"I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else." pic.twitter.com/C5kxhWNW8s

— Matt Viser (@mviser) February 21, 2024

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The New York Times reports that David Weiss, the justice department special prosecutor investigating Hunter Biden, has asked a federal judge in California to detain the former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov.

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Smirnov was arrested last week in Las Vegas on charges related to lying to the government, but a different judge yesterday allowed him to be released ahead of his trial. The Times reports that Weiss now wants him back behind bars:

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NEWS: Special Counsel David Weiss is asking a federal judge in California to reconsider the release of Alexander Smirnov — the former FBI informant accused of fabricated claims about the Bidens — after a judge in Las Vegas freed him on Tuesday.

— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) February 21, 2024

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Here’s more from Jordan:

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Rep. @Jim_Jordan on the indictment of ex-FBI informant Alexander Smirnov: "It is what it is. It doesn't change the fundamental facts." pic.twitter.com/fobfw5SWyj

— CSPAN (@cspan) February 21, 2024

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Federal prosecutors revealed the connection between Russian intelligence and the former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov yesterday, when they argued that Smirnov should be detained while he awaited trial on charges related to lying to the FBI.

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In a court document, prosecutors said that Smirnov revealed Russian intelligence’s involvement during a 14 February interview, when he was arrested in Las Vegas after returning to the United States from overseas. However, the line is vague – it does not specify exactly what information Moscow spread about Hunter Biden.

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“During his custodial interview on February 14, Smirnov admitted that officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story about” Biden, the filing says, without elaborating.

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The Associated Press reports that a judge allowed Smirnov to be released on bail while awaiting trial, and is being monitored by an electronic GPS device.

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Good morning, US politics blog readers. For months, Republicans in the House of Representatives have been inching forward with an effort to impeach Joe Biden for alleged corruption. They have been particularly fixated on his son Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings, but the case against the president was dealt a major blow in recent days, after federal prosecutors brought charges against the former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov. The GOP fixated on Smirnov’s claims that both Bidens received bribes from a Ukrainian energy company, but prosecutors say those were fabricated. In another filing yesterday, the plot unraveled further: Smirnov allegedly had contacts with Russian intelligence, the government said.

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What does all this mean for Republicans? The Biden impeachment effort hasn’t exactly been a top priority in recent months, and isn’t going to get the president out of office – Democrats control the Senate, and are sure to reject the charges. Congress is out, but Biden’s Republican antagonists in the House such as the oversight committee chair, James Comer, and the judiciary committee chair, Jim Jordan, will be pressed to react to the Smirnov affair – we’ll let you know if we hear from them today.

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Here’s what else is going on:

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Biden speaks at 3.45pm from Culver City, California. He traveled to the Golden State yesterday, mostly for campaign events.

James Biden is taking part in a behind-closed-doors deposition as part of the House impeachment inquiry into the president.

The New York attorney general, Letitia James, told ABC News she would seize Donald Trump’s properties if he can’t pay the big civil fraud judgment against him.

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Key events

James Biden says his brother was never involved in his business ventures – report

The testimony refutes Republican claims that Joe Biden has used his official positions to assist his relatives and profit corruptly from their business dealings.

Here’s more, from the Washington Post:

NEW: In James Biden's opening statement, he claims:

"Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities."

"I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else." pic.twitter.com/C5kxhWNW8s

— Matt Viser (@mviser) February 21, 2024

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NEW: In James Biden’s opening statement, he claims:

“Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities.”

“I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else.” pic.twitter.com/C5kxhWNW8s

— Matt Viser (@mviser) February 21, 2024

Special counsel in Hunter Biden case asks judge to detain former FBI informant – report

NEWS: Special Counsel David Weiss is asking a federal judge in California to reconsider the release of Alexander Smirnov — the former FBI informant accused of fabricated claims about the Bidens — after a judge in Las Vegas freed him on Tuesday.

— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) February 21, 2024

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NEWS: Special Counsel David Weiss is asking a federal judge in California to reconsider the release of Alexander Smirnov — the former FBI informant accused of fabricated claims about the Bidens — after a judge in Las Vegas freed him on Tuesday.

— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) February 21, 2024

Republicans have used their control of the House to launch investigations of the Biden administration, but in November, Democrats have the opportunity to change that.

The GOP controls Congress’s lower chamber by a measly margin, and Joe Biden’s allies hope they can flip enough seats to win back control. New York is home to several swing districts, and today, the former CNN anchor and Daily Beast editor John Avlon announced he would run for the Long Island seat currently held by the Republican Nick LaLota:

It's official: I'm running for Congress in #NY01 because there's too much at stake for the country & community I love. Long Island families deserve someone who fights for their values, not Trump's. It's time for us all to get off the sidelines. Join Me. https://t.co/fMu8RdLyBL pic.twitter.com/RHWAam8yif

— John Avlon (@JohnAvlon) February 21, 2024

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New York’s first district leans Republican, but the Democratic-led state government is redrawing its congressional maps, meaning that could change.

The contest for control of the House will, of course, be strongly influenced by voters’ views of the presidential race, where Biden is expected to face a rematch against Donald Trump.

The House GOP’s impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden has moved forward at the same time that a justice department special counsel brought charges against the president’s son for allegedly evading taxes and lying while buying a gun. But as the Guardian’s Edward Helmore reports, lawyers for Hunter Biden argue evidence in his case has been misinterpreted by prosecutors:

Lawyers for Hunter Biden have claimed that a picture government prosecutors are using to support a tax fraud case against him shows neatly arranged lines of sawdust from a carpentry shop – and not cocaine as the government contends.

Joe Biden’s son is facing tax evasion charges for failing to disclose millions in foreign income and a charge for failing to disclose he was a drug addict on gun licensing forms. He claims that use of the picture shows that prosecutors’ evidence against him should not be taken at face value.

The potential mix-up “sounds more like a storyline from one of the 1980’s Police Academy comedies than what should be expected in a high-profile prosecution”, Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell wrote in a court filing.

Lowell said that the government was “flat-out wrong” to claim that Biden took the photograph or that it showed cocaine.

Instead, Lowell said, “this is actually a photo of sawdust from an expert carpenter and it was sent to Mr Biden, not vice versa”. The photo was from a master carpenter and “coke addict” that Biden’s psychiatrist had sent to his patient to “convey that Mr Biden, too, could overcome any addiction”.

‘It is what it is,’ Republican impeachment leader says of Russian intelligence revelation

Here’s more from Jordan:

Rep. @Jim_Jordan on the indictment of ex-FBI informant Alexander Smirnov: "It is what it is. It doesn't change the fundamental facts." pic.twitter.com/fobfw5SWyj

— CSPAN (@cspan) February 21, 2024

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The president’s brother James Biden has arrived for his interview with the Republican-led House oversight and judiciary committees, which are spearheading the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, NBC News reports:

President Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden, arrived for a closed-door transcribed interview with the House Oversight and Judiciary committees.

Asked by @ryanobles what he plans to tell the committees, Biden said: “The truth.” pic.twitter.com/N5mmmGsk0X

— Kyle Stewart (@KyleAlexStewart) February 21, 2024

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President Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden, arrived for a closed-door transcribed interview with the House Oversight and Judiciary committees.

Asked by @ryanobles what he plans to tell the committees, Biden said: “The truth.” pic.twitter.com/N5mmmGsk0X

— Kyle Stewart (@KyleAlexStewart) February 21, 2024

The oversight committee chair, James Comer, subpoenaed James Biden in November, saying he may be able to offer further details of what Comer claims was the Biden family’s “influence peddling”. However, Republicans have yet to turn up any evidence of corruption by the president.

James Biden’s interview will take place behind closed doors, but don’t be surprised if the committee’s lawmakers later give their own versions of what he said.

The supreme court just released two opinions – neither of which deal with the major Donald Trump-related issues pending before the justices.

We’re still waiting to hear from the conservative-dominated body on whether they will uphold a Colorado supreme court decision excluding the former president from the ballot on the grounds that he committed an insurrection. All indications point to most, if not all, of the nine justices overturning the ruling and allowing him to remain on ballots nationwide.

There also has not been any word on what they will do with Trump’s challenge to an appeals court ruling that found he is not immune from prosecution over his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. That matter has frozen his federal trial in Washington DC on the charges, which were brought by the special counsel Jack Smith.

In an interview with CNN, the House Democrat Dan Goldman called on the GOP to drop its impeachment investigation against Joe Biden after the involvement of Russian intelligence in spreading stories about Hunter Biden was revealed:

The Comer/Jordan impeachment sham appears to have been a Russian intelligence operation from the start.

The only remaining question is whether Rs were witting or unwitting agents of Putin in their desperate quest to get Trump reelected.

Will the GOP continue to work for Putin? pic.twitter.com/erzG7b54sU

— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) February 21, 2024

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The Comer/Jordan impeachment sham appears to have been a Russian intelligence operation from the start.

The only remaining question is whether Rs were witting or unwitting agents of Putin in their desperate quest to get Trump reelected.

Will the GOP continue to work for Putin? pic.twitter.com/erzG7b54sU

— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) February 21, 2024

Goldman serves on the oversight committee, whose Republican chair, James Comer, has been a leader in the impeachment push.

Russian intelligence link to Hunter Biden allegations emerged after prosecutors’ attempted to keep Smirnov in jail

The Associated Press reports that a judge allowed Smirnov to be released on bail while awaiting trial, and is being monitored by an electronic GPS device.

Informant’s connection to Russian intelligence tangles House GOP’s push to impeach Biden

Here’s what else is going on:

Biden speaks at 3.45pm from Culver City, California. He traveled to the Golden State yesterday, mostly for campaign events.
James Biden is taking part in a behind-closed-doors deposition as part of the House impeachment inquiry into the president.
The New York attorney general, Letitia James, told ABC News she would seize Donald Trump’s properties if he can’t pay the big civil fraud judgment against him.