A long-running narrative pushed by Fox News and Republicans accusing Joe Biden and his son Hunter of corruption related to Hunter’s work for a Ukrainian energy company collapsed when the FBI informant at the center of the claims was arrested.
Alexander Smirnov was charged with lying to the FBI and fabricating stories about the Bidens engaging in a $10 million bribery scheme.
Special counsel David Weiss, wrote that Smirnov’s “story to the FBI was a fabrication, an amalgam of otherwise unremarkable business meetings.”
According to the indictment, “In short, the Defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against [Joe Biden], the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against [Joe Biden] and his candidacy.”
Smirnov’s claims had formed the basis for over 85 Fox News segments and fueled GOP investigations.
Critics argue this fits a pattern where Fox News promotes dubious narratives but fails to properly correct the record when they fall apart.
