How the ex-FBI informant charged with lying is tied to the Biden impeachment inquiry

A former FBI informant whom House Republicans pointed to for evidence in their impeachment inquiry against President Biden has been arrested and charged with making a false statement.

Biden said on Friday that the inquiry should be dropped.

"It's been an outrageous effort from the beginning," he said.

House Republicans have alleged that Biden's son Hunter engaged in "influence peddling" while Biden was vice president and allege Biden himself was involved. There has been no evidence that Biden has received direct financial benefit from his son's business deals with foreign companies.

Here's what you need to know about Thursday's indictment against Alexander Smirnov:

Who is Smirnov and what is he charged with?

Smirnov, 43, was a longtime FBI informant, according to court papers. He's facing two criminal charges in this indictment — one count of making false statements and one count of creating a false and fictitious record.

Prosecutors say Smirnov falsely told FBI agents in 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in bribes in 2015 or 2016 to protect the company from investigators.

The indictment also alleges that Smirnov repeated false claims when interviewed by the FBI last year and changed some of his story.

How does this tie to the House impeachment inquiry?

The development could further destabilize the impeachment probe into Biden led by Republicans in the House of Representatives, which has been moving forward in a so-far fruitless search for evidence of wrongdoing.

In appearances on conservative media over several months, investigators helming the inquiry disseminated the claims that Smirnov is charged with lying about, and ultimately