Yesterday, a federal appeals court rejected a request to release Alexander Smirnov, James Comer’s star witness in his impeachment investigation, from jail. Smirnov is the ex-FBI informant, who was arrested in February for criminally lying about President Biden and his family. Court documents revealed that Smirnov was also fed lies by Russian intelligence officials and was paid by a firm connected to Trump associates.
For over a year, Comer bragged about Smirnov’s credibility and made Smirnov’s claims central to his investigation into President Biden.
Comer’s impeachment investigation is proving nothing other than he cannot conduct legitimate oversight. After a year and a half of hearings, interviews, and document requests, Comer has found no evidence of impeachable offenses (as his fellow MAGA GOP Garrett Graves says).
Forgot all of the times James Comer has bragged about how Smirnov is the “most credible” and “very crucial” witness in his investigation? We’ll jog your memory!
1. JANUARY 2024: Comer Said Smirnov Was The FBI’s “Most Respected” Informant. “James Comer: We know the FBI never even bothered to look into the crimes even when their most respected and highest paid informants said that both Joe Biden as well as his family were taking bribes.” [Lou Dobbs Tonight, 1/11/24]
2. AUGUST 2023: Comer Asserted That The FBI Believed What Smirnov Told Them Because He Was A Trusted Informant. “Sean Hannity: Let me ask you this, that 1023 form that the FBI desperately tried to keep from you, the one that used an FBI informant, and that informant was trusted by the FBI. They had paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past, right? So they believed in what he brought up, correct? James Comer: Yes, sir.” [“Hannity,” Fox News, 8/17/23]
3. AUGUST 2023: Comer Called Smirnov “A Credible Human Informant.” “James Comer: The two most damaging things for the IRS investigation have been revealed in the last two weeks by the Oversight Committee. First of all, we learned that the FBI and the U.S. Attorney did not share with the IRS investigators that there was a form alleging Biden took a bribe from Ukraine, when they knew the IRS was investigating suspicious wires from Ukraine going into Biden bank accounts. They knew that, but they didn’t share that form 1023 from a credible human informant.” [“Ingraham Angle,” Fox News, 8/1/23]
4. JULY 2023:Comer: Smirnov Is “One Of Their Most Trusted, Most Effective Informants In The Entire Bureau.” “James Comeri: They said that this FBI informant was one of their most trusted, most effective informants in the entire Bureau, and that they had successfully used his testimony in previous cases.” [Sean Hannity Radio, 7/26/23]
5. JULY 2023: Comer: “This Is From The FBI’s Most Trusted, Most Credible, One Of Their Highest Paid Informants.” “Elizabeth MacDonald: You and Senator Grassley released that FBI document from a whistleblower from the veteran FBI informant the FBI paid thousands or tens — hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past, what does it say? James Comer: Well, this is from the FBI’s most trusted, most credible, one of their highest paid informants in the whole bureau and what the informant alleges to the FBI is that he was told by the Burisma CEO that they paid two bribes, one to Joe Biden and one to Hunter Biden for $5 million each, in exchange for certain policy decisions, and we all know the policy decision was to fire the prosecutor who was investigating Burisma for corruption.” [“Evening Edit,” Fox Business, 7/20/23]
6. JULY 2023: Comer Said The 1023 Form Contained “Very Credible Bribery Allegations.” “James Comer: No one has ever investigated the Bidens. The Form 1023 that Senator Grassley and I produced showed that no one ever investigated within the FBI the very credible bribery allegations that Joe Biden had.” [Great America Show With Lou Dobbs, 7/19/23]
7. JULY 2023: Comer: Smirnov Is “The Most Credible Human Informant.” “James Comer: You have a credible human informant, the most credible human informant, according to the FBI, in the whole Bureau, that said he spoke with this Ukrainian oligarch who said he had bribed the Bidens.” [The Benny Show, 7/18/23]
8. JUNE 2023: Comer: Smirnov Is “The Most Trusted, HIghest Paid FBI Informant.” “James Comer: Well, the Justice Department simply has turned a blind eye to Hunter Biden. They were told to stand down. That’s what our FBI whistleblower told us. When we learned of the discovery of the 1023 form that alleged Joe Biden took a bribery from the most trusted, highest paid FBI informant, they were told to stand down. When we brought in the general counsel for the National Archives, when they were trying to write a story on their website about Joe Biden mishandling classified documents, they were told by the Department of Justice to stand down. “ [“Jesse Waters Primetime,” Fox News, 6/22/23]
9. JUNE 2021: Comer Called The 1023 Form “Credible Allegations.” “James Comer: My question for the FBI is, why do I have to go as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee into the SCIF, which is where you go for classified information to look at an unclassified document that you all redact over 60 percent of? It doesn’t make any sense. Either the FBI is covering up for Joe Biden or they are covering up for themselves for not ever investigating these credible allegations that the president of the United States took a bribe from a foreign national.” [“Evening Edit,” Fox Business, 6/21/23]
10. JUNE 2023: Comer: Smirnov Was “Credible” When He Told The FBI That Joe Biden Took Bribes. “James Comer: Now we know about this form 1023 that alleges bribery. What we know from our informants and from our sources in the FBI is that the FBI never investigated this. They never investigated this one, even though they will tell you and you heard in the testimony when Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley grilled the deputy FBI director as to why they wouldn’t release the form 1023. They said, ‘Well, we don’t want to endanger the life of our paid informant who is one of our most trusted, highest paid, most credible FBI informants.’ So if this is the case, and the FBI informant is that credible, and the FBI informant tells the FBI that the vice president of the United States took a bribe from a foreign national in exchange for foreign policy and foreign aid, then why did the FBI not investigate it? “ [“Life Liberty & Levin,” Fox News, 6/18/23]
11. JUNE 2023: Comer: Allegations Against Biden Are “Based On A Trusted Informant’s Conversations.” “Democrats continue to lie about the FBI’s Biden bribery record. The record didn’t originate with Rudy Giuliani. It’s based on a trusted informant’s conversations with the foreign national who claimed to have bribed then-VP Biden. The record isn’t closed. It was sent to the U.S. Attorney in Delaware for further investigation.” [@GOPOversight, 6/16/23]
12. JUNE 2023: Comer Said Smirnov Was “One Of Our Highest Paid, Most Trusted, Most Respected, Most Effective FBI Informants In The Whole Bureau.” “Maria Bartiromo: These are very serious allegations, obviously, so we want to get right to it. What did these 17 tapes tell us? James Comer: Well, according to what the oligarch told the FBI informant was that they had 17 recordings, two of President Joe Biden, the others of his son accepting bribes and talking about the terms of the bride. This is a very serious allegation. And one thing that I know for sure, Maria, is the FBI never did one single thing to investigate this, even though you’ve heard in the testimony that you just showed with with Hawley and Cruz where the FBI told them exactly what they told me, “We can’t release these documents or tell you anything about potential tapes, because it could endanger the life of this FBI informant.” And this is one of our highest paid, most trusted, most respected, most effective FBI informants in the whole Bureau. So if that’s the case, then why didn’t the FBI ever investigate any of these bribery claims with Joe Biden?” [“Mornings With Maria,” Fox Business, 6/15/23]
- Comer Claimed Smirnov Was Also Working For The CIA And Was “A Very Valuable Person To The FBI.” “Maria Bartiromo: Well, I think this is a really important point, because that’s what I’ve been told from many people that, in fact, this whistleblower, this informant, rather, is the best informant that this government has ever seen. Tell me about this informant and why this person is so important. James Comerr: Well, I’ll tell you what I think I can tell you, and that is that this informant has been paid over $200,000 from the FBI. We believe this informant may also work for potentially the CIA, and this informant has been around since the Obama administration. They have used this informant’s testimony in other cases that they have been involved in around the world, so this is a very valuable person to the FBI, which begs the question, why didn’t the FBI investigate these allegations?” [“Mornings With Maria,” Fox Business, 6/15/23]
- Comer: This Document Is From “A Credible Informant.” “James Comer: Well, the document, again, is from a credible informant. It says that Joe Biden was taking a bribe. Now let’s look at what this document also says. It said from the oligarch that the investigators will never be able to find this or it will take them over 10 years to find this because of the way we funneled the money through various different banks. The oligarch also referred to Joe Biden as the ‘big guy.’ Now, Maria, this is years before anyone else knew about the term ‘big guy.’ And this is years before my committee unveiled the fact that the Bidens had all these shell companies and were laundering money through six different American banks. So this is information no one would have known about, but the informant tells the FBI.” [“Mornings With Maria,” Fox Business, 6/15/23]
13. JUNE 2023: Comer: Smirnov Is “One Of The FBI’s Most Credible, Highest Paid, Most Trusted, Most Effective Informants.” “James Comer: What I believe has happened, Trey, is that according to Bill Barr, then Attorney General, they got the Form 1023, and because it was from one of the FBI’s most credible, highest paid, most trusted, most effective informants, they took it seriously, but they didn’t look into it. They just passed it along to the US Attorney in Delaware. So what Jamie Raskin is talking about isn’t even the same thing.” [“Sunday Night in America,” Fox News, 6/11/23]
14. JUNE 2023: Comer: “A Highly Credible Informant At The FBI” Accused Joe Biden Of Bribery. “There is a two-tier system of justice in this country. Now we know a highly credible informant at the FBI has indicated that then-VP Joe Biden engaged in a criminal bribery scheme. The FBI says this investigation has been going on for YEARS. Americans deserve answers.” [@RepJamesComer, 6/9/23]
15. JUNE 2023: Comer: Smirnov Is “One Of The Most Highest Paid, Most Respected, Most Trusted, Most Effective Human Informants.” “James Comer: I can tell you that the FBI has had this since 2017. This particular 1023 that I was able to grant access for my entire committee today, it’s dated June 30th of 2020. But what — you go back through the document and their footnotes that reference two prior years. So they were communicating with this paid informant for years and according to the FBI, this is one of the most highest paid, most respected, most trusted, most effective human informants. So what we learned is what the whistleblowers told Senator Grassley all along. The FBI never investigated this.” [“Hannity,” Fox News, 6/8/23]
- Comer: Smirnov Is The “Most Trusted Credible Source.” “James Comer: No. Look, Joe Biden has mishandled classified documents in a much more severe manner than Donald Trump ever mishandled classified documents. What we’ve learned about this form 1023, again, the FBI never investigated it, but there’s — this is a pattern of the FBI not investigating anything with respect to Biden. Look at what they had with the Steele dossier, which was no credible source, compared to what they have with this 1023 on Joe Biden, from their most trusted credible source.” [“Hannity,” Fox News, 6/8/23]
16. JUNE 2023: Comer: “the Confidential Human Source Who Provided This Information Is Highly Credible And Trusted.” “We also know the confidential human source who provided this information is highly credible and trusted, has worked with the FBI for over a decade, and has been paid six figures.” [James Comer Press Release, 6/7/23]
17. JUNE 2023: Comer: This Allegation Is From “One Of The Most Credible Paid Informants In The Whole System.” “James Comer: Well, the human informant, according to the FBI, is one of the most trusted, most accomplished paid informants in the entire Bureau. He’s one of the highest paid informants in the Bureau. He’s been with the Bureau for 13 years, dating back to the Obama administration, still currently with the Bureau. So the fact that this particular human source is one of the most valuable agents to the FBI shows that the allegation should be pretty credible. But here’s what’s credible to me, Rob, is the fact that this form that we’re requesting was written in June of 2020. It alleges bribery of significant payment to Joe Biden, and that the payee informed the human source that nobody would ever find it, because the way the Bidens wanted the money was to be sent through multiple banks and multiple, essentially, shell companies before it got to the Biden family. So that sounds very familiar to what we found in Romania. there is a pattern here of the Bidens doing this while Joe Biden was Vice President. That’s why I believe that this allegation from – according to the FBI – what one of the most credible paid informants in the whole system. That’s why I think this is a credible allegation.” [“Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Newsmax, 6/6/23]
18. JUNE 2023: Comer: The FBI Informant Is “One Of Their Most Highly Credible Human Sources.” “James Comer: This particular document was dated in 2020, but there are notes in the document that date back to 2017. We believe that this human source initially informed the FBI of the bribery scheme back in 2017. So my question to the FBI was what exactly have you done with this accusation? Because the FBI admitted that this is a highly credible – in fact, one of their most highly credible human sources. They admitted that they had paid this source a substantial amount of money and he had been a part of the Bureau for 13 years dating back to the Obama administration.” [“Hannity,” Fox News, 6/5/23]
- Comer: Smirnov Is A “Highly Credible, Well Respected Human Source.” “James Comer: What the whistleblower, or what the human informant alleged in the FBI form is exactly the same as what we saw in Romania. The vice president at the time, Joe Biden, was in the country. He was talking about foreign policy. And then soon afterwards, according to this highly credible, well respected human source, then there was a bribe made, and it specifically detailed allegations that the bribe would be made in a way that would be very difficult to find.” [“Hannity,” Fox News, 6/5/23]
19. JUNE 2023: Comer: “The Confidential Human Source Who Provided Information About Then Vice President Biden Being Involved In A Criminal Bribery Scheme Is A Trusted, Highly Credible Informant.” “The confidential human source who provided information about then Vice President Biden being involved in a criminal bribery scheme is a trusted, highly credible informant who has been used by the FBI for over 10 years, and has been paid over six figures. These are facts and no amount of spin and, frankly, lies from the White House or congressional Democrats can change this information.” [James Comer Press Conference, Washington, DC, 6/5/23]
- Comer: Smirnov Is A “Highly Credible Source.” “Let’s just look at what I’ve read in a lot of the media accounts and with statements that Ian Sams has made from the White House that, you know, there’s no merit to this, this is crazy, this is a conspiracy theory. You’re just supposed to take my word or the FBI’s word. I’m supposed to take the FBI’s word that they’re investigating this. You’re gonna write that the source is unverified or whatever. Remember, the main reason they’re not wanting to make this public is because they’re concerned about the source, the highly credible – and I haven’t read that in a lot of outlets – the highly credible source that’s been with the Bureau since the Obama administration.” [James Comer Press Conference, Washington, DC, 6/5/23]
20. JUNE 2023: Comer: Allegations Against Biden Are From “A Credible Informant With Years Of Experience.” “The White House is confused about the facts. The FBI confirmed the serious allegations against then-VP Biden were from a credible informant with years of experience. No amount of spin from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue can change this. I will hold the FBI accountable.” [@RepJamesComer, 6/5/23]
21. JUNE 2023: Comer: The FBI Confirmed The Bribery Allegation Is From “A Highly Credible Informant.” “🚨🚨🚨 The FBI confirmed the unclassified record alleging then-VP Biden engaged in a $5 million bribery scheme is from a highly credible informant & being used in an ongoing investigation. The FBI refused to hand over the doc. I will hold Director Wray in contempt of Congress.” [@RepJamesComer, 6/5/23]
22. JUNE 2023: Comer: Allegations Against Biden Are From “A Highly Credible Human Informant.” “‘FBI Director Wray confirmed the existence of the FD-1023 form alleging then-Vice President Biden engaged in a criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national. This form, generated by the FBI from a highly credible human informant with years of experience, tracks closely with what we are seeing in our investigation into the Biden family’s influence peddling schemes,’ Comer told Fox News Digital, referring to the House Oversight Committee’s broader investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings.” [Fox News, 6/2/23]
23. JUNE 2023: Comer: “The Informant Is Extremely Credible” “James Comer: The informant is extremely credible. And what I think we’re gonna find is that when this allegation was made, that the FBI never followed up on it. I think what we’re gonna find is that they probably looked at this and thought, ‘Well, that would be impossible. There’s no way this could happen.’” [“Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Newsmax, 6/1/23]
- Comer: “We Have A Credible Witness, A Credible Informant.” “James Comer: Here we have a credible witness, a credible informant that made this accusation years before anyone knew about the shell companies, or the family receiving wires. And I think what we’ve done is what the FBI should have done a long time ago, we’ve been digging.” [“Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Newsmax, 6/1/23]
24.MAY 2023: Comer Called Smirnovs Allegations “Credible.” “Sean Hannity: I want to be very clear. You believe in the credibility of this whistleblower. You believe that the allegation that Joe Biden, as Vice President, received money for his family, or family enterprise, in exchange for specific acts that he took as the vice president of our country? You believe that that is a credible charge, and allegation made by a credible witness? James Comer: Well,it’s so hard to believe, Sean, I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen the bank records, had I not seen the shell companies that the Biden family created to launder money that was being received from foreign nationals after Joe Biden left the country with foreign aid checks. So there’s a pattern here that would suggest this is a credible allegation.” [“Hannity,” Fox News, 5/31/23]
25. MAY 2023: Comer Called The 1023 Form “A Very Crucial Piece Of Our Investigation.” “James Comer: Well, the FBI refused to turn over the form 1023. We had another meeting where they were very patronizing. I’ve asked for a phone call with Director Wray. We expect to get this document. Speaker McCarthy had a phone call with Director Wray. He demanded that they turn over this document. This is a very crucial piece of our investigation.” [“Jesse Watters Primetime,” Fox News, 5/22/23]
26. MAY 2023: Comer Said The Allegations In The FBI Form 1023 Were From A “Credible Whistleblower.” “James Comer: So with respect to the document, we’re confident the document exists. I’ll put it like that, and that’s all I’m gonna say about that. What we want to know is what exactly did the FBI do to investigate this accusation? Because this is an accusation that the vice president of the United States sold influence to a foreign national, to an enemy, an adversary of the United States. This is a very serious accusation from a credible whistleblower. What did our Federal Bureau of Investigation do with respect to investigating that?” [Joe Pags Show, 5/17/23]
27. MAY 2023: Comer Called Smirnov’s Allegations “Pretty Credible.” “James Comer: And here’s why I think it’s credible. What the informant alleged that Joe Biden did and how they had the payment is consistent with what we found in Romania, and China, and other countries that I haven’t disclosed yet. Now, that informant disclosed this over three years ago. No one knew about this web of LLCs until about a month ago when I started talking about it on TV. So this informant laid out a picture long before anyone knew about the web of LLCs and the influence peddling in these other countries. So to me, it fits a pattern that no one else would have known about and it’s pretty credible.” [Fox Across America With Jimmy Failla, 5/15/23]
28. MAY 2023: Comer Called The FBI Informant “Very Credible.” “Ashley Strohmier: Tomorrow is also the deadline for the FBI to provide documents to your committee relating to an alleged bribery scandal involving then Vice President Joe Biden. Do you think they’re gonna comply by that deadline? James Comer: Well, I sure hope so. They need to be scratching their head wondering what we know. We want to know what they know. This whistleblower is very credible.” [“Fox & Friends,” Fox News, 5/9/23]
- Comer: The Release Of The 1023 Form Is “Judgment Day For The White House.” “James Comer: Tomorrow is going to be a bad day for the White House, and it’s going to be interesting to see what Joe Biden has to say. He lied about the laptop. He lied about his knowledge of his family’s shady business dealings. He lied about his involvement in his family’s shady business dealings. He lives when he says his son has done nothing wrong. So it’s gonna be Judgment Day tomorrow for the White House. And it’ll be very interesting when they see evidence, because the White House and the American people are used to a lot of congressional investigations that never provide any evidence, or that have evidence like the Steele dossier, with respect to Adam Schiff and Jamie Raskin, that we later learned was completely false. You can’t lie on bank records. And one thing that all the different banks that we dealt with have said is that this family was involved in money laundering schemes. So these are some very serious charges and any other American family would have already been indicted and probably gone to prison for some of the things that the Biden family has done. So tomorrow is going to be Judgment Day and it’d be very interesting to see what Jean Pierre and little Ian Sams have to say when they’re presented with evidence.” [“Fox & Friends,” Fox News, 5/9/23]
29. MAY 2023: Information In The FBI 1023 Form Will Provide “Very Crucial Information To Our Investigation.” “James Comer: So this whistle-blower is going to provide some very crucial information to our investigation. And we have given the FBI until May the 10th to produce this document. So, the ball is in the FBI’s court with respect to this whistle-blower.” [“Sunday Morning Futures,” Fox News, 5/7/23]
30. MAY 2023: Comer Said He Had Determined That The FBI Informant Was “Extremely Credible.” “James Comer: Senator Grassley and I have reviewed a legally protected and highly credible whistleblower document, which alleges that there was an exchange of money for policy decisions made by then Vice President Joe Biden. We have determined the the whistleblower is extremely credible.” [“Mornings With Maria,” Fox Business, 5/5/23]
31. MAY 2023: Comer Called Allegations From The FBI Informant “Credible Whistleblower Disclosures.” “🚨I have reviewed credible whistleblower disclosures that then-VP Joe Biden allegedly engaged in a bribery scheme with a foreign national. Given the severity of these allegations, we acted swiftly. I sent a subpoena to the FBI. Transparency brings accountability.” [@RepJamesComer, 5/4/23]