Look like the Democrats and their media partners are rebooting “Russia, Russia, Russia,” to gaslight the “False Information Voter.” You’ve heard of “low information voters.” “False Information Voters” are those otherwise intelligent people — predominantly liberals — who absorb news from mainstream media, are peddled patently false propaganda and denied crucial facts. These False Information Voters then flood social media declaring up is down, down is up.

The latest swindle of the False Information Voter? Declaring the Biden-Burisma bribery scandal “Russian misinformation.”

The Arrest and Detention of Alexander Smirnov

This latest snow job was triggered by the suspiciously timed arrest of a man named Alexander Smirnov. For 10 years, Alexander Smirnov was a trusted and valued FBI informant. He was in contact with his FBI handlers on an almost daily basis. Smirnov was soooo trusted, so valuable, the FBI eventually allowed him to engage in criminal acts.

In 2020, Smirnov came in with a detailed allegation: He had been retained by the Ukrainian energy company Burisma to help them prepare for a U.S. stock offering. Huge money at stake for Burisma. However, there was a problem. Burisma was under criminal investigation in Ukraine, leaving the U.S. windfall out of reach. Smirnov advised Burisma to hire some Ukraine lawyers to take care of the investigation, and be on their way. According to Smirnov, the head of Burisma said, no, they were already out $10 million to the Biden’s — five for Hunter, five for Joe — for the purposes of Joe squeezing Ukraine to get rid of the prosecutor and kneecapping the investigation.

Smirnov’s report was detailed in an FBI FD-1023 memo. Attorney General Bill Barr gave it to the FBI field office in Pittsburgh to check out. Since Smirnov was an established credible source, and they were able to verify chunks of his Burisma story, they sent it to the Delaware District Attorney’s office headed by David Weiss for their investigation into the business shenanigans of Hunter Biden. (While being forbidden from following evidence that led toward Joe Biden.)

What did Weiss do with that report detailing this blockbuster, partially verified Confidential Human Source memo? A memo loaded with allegations crucial to their investigation of Hunter Biden? NOTHING. Sat on it for years.

That is, until an FBI whistleblower alerted Congress to the existence of the memo. When Sen. Chuck Grassley wanted the memo and wanted to talk to this source, the FBI blasted Grassley claiming his request would jeopardize the safety of this crucial intelligence asset.

When word of these damning bribery allegations became public, suddenly Weiss showed intense interest … in Smirnov. Within months, on Valentine’s Day, the very same Weiss who ignored the bribery allegation for years, who slow-walked the Biden investigation past important statutes of limitations, who cut an unprecedented sweetheart deal with Hunter Biden that would shield him from prosecution for the foreign dealings that implicate his father, up and indicted Smirnov. The claim? Smirnov lied about some of his contacts with Burisma.

Oh, and Weiss made a production out of the fact that Smirnov had contacts with Russian intelligence. The indictment claims that in November, Smirnov admitted some of the information he had passed along concerning the Biden’s had come from people connected to Russian intelligence.

This would not be news to the FBI. Smirnov had told them about his contacts up front and kept them in the loop. That was part of his job as an FBI informant. A frustrated Margot Cleveland of The Federalist dissects the details of the Smirnov indictment in “Democrats Spin Weiss’ Latest Indictment Into New Russia Hoax to Let Biden Skate in 2024.”

Russia, Russia Everywhere

No matter. The word “Russia” was enough for the Democrats, White House and media. The entire story of the Bidens being paid by Burisma to get rid of the prosecutor was declared a Russian operation, even as House Oversight Committee James Comer insists their evidence doesn’t rely on Smirnov.

It wasn’t just the Burisma case allegedly torpedoed by the allegations against Smirnov. (And yeah, they’re just allegations at this point.) MSNBC suddenly declared the 51 intel community bosses who said Hunter’s laptop was Russian disinformation were “right.” Vindicated. Yes, the same laptop which has been repeatedly verified every which way to Sunday, including by media outlets usually in bed with the White House and Special Counsel David Weiss.

Meanwhile, Biden is shuffling around saying Congress must end its impeachment inquiry, that the Burisma story has been proven wrong. This would be the same Biden who insisted he had zero contact or discussions with his son and brother about their business dealings.

As for the media? Add yet another Russia, Russia, Russia hoax to the list. For a refresher:

Russia Hoax Update (now 14)

1. Russia collusion hoax (the original)

2. Russian bounties on American soldiers hoax

3. Hunter laptop was Russian disinfo hoax

4. Trump responsible for Navalny's death hoax

5. Trump invited Russia to attack a NATO country that doesn't pay its…

— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) February 26, 2024

What an obscenity. You have disinformation, misinformation, how about mal-information?

What Do We Know?

Let’s look at some basic facts.

1. Burisma paid Hunter Biden at least $1 million a year for the sole purpose of Hunter using his contacts … namely his father — the Vice President of the United States who happened to be tasked with Ukraine – to use the Big Guy’s muscle to rid Burisma of the criminal investigation and its pesky prosecutor.
2. We know this is why Hunter was hired, not from Smirnov, but from Hunter’s business partner Devon Archer. For that matter, Hunter himself admitted to ABC he would not have been hired but for his name.
3. We know that Joe Biden went to Ukraine, and threatened its president that if he did not fire the prosecutor — as Burisma wanted — immediately, they weren’t going to get $1 billion in U.S. aid.
4. We know this because Joe Biden bragged about it … in public.

Roll tape …

You want more receipts? Rep. Jim Jordan has them in this new summary posted Monday to X.

It’s a tale as old as time. A government official takes action. That action benefits his family. And then, when questions are asked, there’s a cover-up. For President Joe Biden, it’s a story about money, influence, and protecting the Biden family brand.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏 –…

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 26, 2024

What else do we know?

The same DOJ that is trying to now sell you that Smirnov is a liar is the same DOJ that charged Gen. Michael Flynn with lying to the FBI when the FBI agents who interviewed him concluded that he was truthful.

The same DOJ that is selling you that Smirnov is a Russian agent rather than an FBI asset is the same DOJ that told FISA courts that Carter Page was a Russian agent when he was confirmed to be a CIA asset.

The same DOJ that is criminally charging this Confidential Human Source for lying to the FBI is allowing Christopher Steele, who lied to the FBI about Trump in his infamous “Steele Dossier,” to walk free.

We also know from the IRS investigators on the Hunter Biden case that Biden’s DOJ bent over backwards to shield Joe Biden from their investigation. They couldn’t even dig into who “The Big Guy” was.

We know that the arrest of Smirnov follows a disturbing, fascist trend of those who prove damaging to the regime finding themselves persecuted. Be they informants, whistleblowers, public servants, political opponents … or parents at school board meetings. Biden’s DOJ dogs chew them up the way his own dogs chew up Secret Service agents.

We know that racing to charge Smirnov … and publicly naming him as an FBI informant … does precisely what the FBI warned Grassley about: Revealing sources and methods, putting Smirnov’s life in danger, and potentially the lives of those overseas who he interacted with. What information and whistleblowers will now clam up, knowing if they say the wrong thing, they will be outed and perhaps arrested? How will our national security be harmed?

So Why’d They Do It?

The same David Weiss who sat on Smirnov’s allegations for three years, turned around and indicted Smirnov in mere months once his allegations went public. Announced the arrest just days after the release of the Hur report, as the presidential race intensifies and as Joe Biden’s brother James was set to testify.

The reaction tells us why the Biden DOJ did it:

1. To give Biden and his media allies a way to create the illusion the Burisma pay-to-play has been discredited.
2. Create a bright shiny object to divert attention away from Special Counsel Robert Hur’s devastating report on Biden’s mental decline and illegal handling of classified information.
3. To overshadow the impeachment inquiry testimony of James Biden and soften the ground before Hunter Biden’s testimony.
4. To use the allegations of Smirnov lying to discredit the entire impeachment investigation and the mountains of evidence pointing to decades of Biden family corruption. Including impeachable, arguably treasonous, actions by the then-Vice President.

We’ll offer a fifth. The indictment of Smirnov, and subsequent media screaming that Russia’s out to get Biden drowned out the sworn testimony last week of former Biden business associate Jason Galinas. Hey, media, you want to talk about Russia? Galinas gives you Russia.

As we reported on The Brew:

Galinas recounted how Hunter got his dad on the horn when they were trying to close a deal with Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina and her husband, the former mayor of Moscow. The Big Guy exchanged quick pleasantries before ending with “You be good to my boy.”

Days later, Baturina sealed the deal to drop $10-20 million into a Biden-controlled investment fund. Incidentally, you want to know what Russian oligarch wasn’t sanctioned when Joe Biden sanctioned Russian oligarchs? Five points if you answered “Yelena Baturina.”

You hear any mainstream media talk about this bombshell connection between Joe Biden and millions being poured into the family coffers by a Russian oligarch and Putin pal, who in turn has been protected by Joe Biden?

Like Baturina, David Weiss — once again — was good to the Bidens. And not good for the cause of truth and justice.

Please, oh, please, my dear liberal friends, do not be snookered again.

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and co-author of the counter-terrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.