What is the cost for Republicans of their key FBI informant having Russian ties?

Republican “ineptitude” in attempts to impeach Joe Biden left the party embarrassed when a key source was revealed this week not only to have lied to the FBI but to have links to Russian intelligence, a leading House Democrat has said.

“It demonstrates chairman Comer and chairman Jordan’s ineptitude in dealing with an investigation that is really designed as a political ploy to help Donald Trump,” said Dan Goldman of New York.

Goldman is a member of the House oversight committee, a panel chaired by James Comer of Kentucky, who has led the impeachment attempt alongside Jim Jordan of Ohio, the Republican judiciary chair.

“They were willing to use anything they could get their hands on to make incredibly bold accusations that now result with them having egg on their face,” Goldman added.

Last week, Alexander Smirnov, an FBI informant behind claims of corruption involving Joe Biden, was arrested on charges of lying about alleged links between the president, his son Hunter Biden, and Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company.

That was bad enough for Comer and Jordan, but then prosecutors dropped a bombshell: allegations that Smirnov had ties to officials linked to Russian intelligence.

That news broke before closed-door testimony in which James Biden, a brother of the president, forcefully rejected claims of corruption. Democrats called for an end to the impeachment attempt, but Comer and Jordan vowed to press on, brushing off revelations about Smirnov and saying they retained faith in his claims. Hunter Biden is due to be interviewed next week.

Speaking to reporters hosted by the Congressional Integrity Project, a liberal watchdog, Goldman considered how Republicans came to rely on Smirnov.

Goldman said: “The only way this became public