Ron Johnson Insists Alexander Smirnov 'Innocent Until Proven Guilty'

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has said Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant charged with falsely stating that President Joe Biden and his son accepted a bribe, is "innocent until proven guilty."

Last week, Smirnov was hit with felony charges over claims that executives at Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Joe and son Hunter Biden "$5 million each" in exchange for favors from the former during his term as vice president. The claim had become central to the elder Biden's impeachment inquiry, launched by House Republicans last year. The White House has consistently denied wrongdoing by the Bidens, last year describing it as "sad, pathetic, and a waste of everyone's time."

It was then alleged Smirnov has ties to Russian intelligence agencies, according to a court memo filed by the Department of Justice's Special Counsel David Weiss. If he is convicted of lying charges, Smirnov, a 43-year-old dual Israeli-U.S. citizen, could face up to 25 years in prison. Newsweek contacted representatives for Biden by email to comment on this story.

Speaking about Smirnov's arrest during a Newsmax interview, Johnson said he remained confident in the impeachment inquiry and referenced the Hunter Biden laptop controversy, when the owner of a Delaware computer shop said Hunter Biden left a laptop with emails on it allegedly showing corruption by Joe Biden.

Johnson said: "Well obviously they knew, the FBI had the laptop, they knew it was authentic, those intelligence officials who signed that letter were corrupt they're in the tanks with the Biden administration and by the way Smirnov is innocent until proven guilty. Is this a corrupt investigation, a corrupt prosecution? I have no idea."

"The evidence against the Bidens is so overwhelming," he added.

When Smirnov was arrested, Hunter Biden's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement: "For months, we have warned that Republicans have built their conspiracies about Hunter and his family on lies told by people with political agendas, not facts."

However, James Comer, who is leading the impeachment investigation, said the inquiry was "based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his family's business dealings," CNN reported.

Democrats also called for the inquiry to be dropped. "Special Counsel Weiss's investigation is just the most recent to debunk the Ukraine-Burisma conspiracy theory at the heart of this fraudulent impeachment inquiry," said Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, in a statement.

Raskin added: "It is an undeniable fact that Republicans' allegations against President Biden have always been a tissue of lies built on conspiracy theories, and I formally call on Speaker Johnson, Chairman Comer, and House Republicans to stop promoting this nonsense and end their doomed impeachment inquiry."