Jerry Nadler asks DOJ to investigate former US Attorney Scott Brady for false testimony about Smirnov [View all]

[pnwmom]

at a House meeting in October 2023.

This is a press release from Nadler's office.

https://nadler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=395117

In the letter to Garland and Horowitz, Nadler writes:

“During his October 23, 2023, transcribed interview before the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Brady repeatedly testified that he had vetted and found credible statements made by a confidential human source (CHS), now identified as Alexander Smirnov. Of course, on February 14, 2024, a federal grand jury in the Central District of California indicted Alexander Smirnov for making a false statement to the FBI and creating a false and fictitious record. Given what we now know about Mr. Smirnov, it seems unlikely that Mr. Brady actually verified any of the information Mr. Smirnov provided to the FBI. Mr. Brady’s testimony to the contrary does not appear to be a mere misstatement—his comments were deliberate, repeated, and detailed.

“Mr. Brady’s testimony before the Committee also sheds light on a much broader pattern of misconduct. During his interview, Mr. Brady stated that he directed the FBI to conduct the June 2020 interview with Mr. Smirnov, who is alleged to have ties to Russian intelligence, despite reluctance from FBI agents handling the matter. If true, then Mr. Brady appears to have been part of a deliberate attempt to launder foreign disinformation through the Department of Justice.”

A full copy of the letter can be read here. https://nadler.house.gov/uploadedfiles/jngarlandhorowitz.pdf

During his October 23, 2023, transcribed interview before the Judiciary Committee, Mr.
Brady repeatedly testified that he had vetted and found credible statements made by a
confidential human source (CHS), now identified as Alexander Smirnov.1 Of course, on February
14, 2024, a federal grand jury in the Central District of California indicted Alexander Smirnov
for making a false statement to the FBI and creating a false and fictitious record.2 Given what
we now know about Mr. Smirnov, it seems unlikely that Mr. Brady actually verified any of the
information Mr. Smirnov provided to the FBI. Mr. Brady’s testimony to the contrary does not
appear to be a mere misstatement—his comments were deliberate, repeated, and detailed.

Mr. Brady’s testimony before the Committee also sheds light on a much broader pattern
of misconduct. During his interview, Mr. Brady stated that he directed the FBI to conduct the
June 2020 interview with Mr. Smirnov, who is alleged to have ties to Russian intelligence,
despite reluctance from FBI agents handling the matter.3 If true, then Mr. Brady appears to have
been part of a deliberate attempt to launder foreign disinformation through the Department of
Justice.

And, according to his testimony, he was not acting alone. Mr. Brady told the Committee
that his investigation into matters relating to Hunter Biden and Ukraine was conducted at the
direction of then-Attorney General Bill Barr and then-Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.4
Deputy Attorney General Rosen’s Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General (PADAG), Seth
DuCharme, instructed Mr. Brady to contact counsel for President Trump’s personal attorney,
Rudy Giuliani, in January 2020.5 Mr. Giuliani would later describe this work as “years-long
efforts to work with Ukrainians to dig up dirt on the Bidens.”