Thread by @ClimateAudit

Multiple pages of Smirnov Indictment contain a series of texts from May 19, 2020 in VERY large font, which Weiss characterized as "expressing bias against" Biden. Weiss failed to disclose what was happening on May 19, 2020. It was pivotal to subsequent censorship, incl laptop.

on May 19, 2020, Andrii Derkach and Konstantin Kulyk (the Ukrainian prosecutor who recovered $1.5 billion of embezzled funds - the ONLY major recovery ever accomplished) held press conference that released Biden-Poroshenko tapes. Here is a link to video

the Derkach press conference attracted little mainstream attention but was noticed in this corner. E.g. here . @FoolNelson was one of very few people who covered Derkach July 2020 press conference

@FoolNelson in summer 2020, Dems and US security state suppressed Derkach. In Sep 2020, Derkach was sanctioned by Treasury and his social media and website erased. It was part of same operation as subsequent suppression of Hunter laptop.

@FoolNelson Bottom line: Smirnov's texts on May 19, 2020 were about the Derkach-Kulyk press conference of May 19, 2020, which contained lurid and detailed corruption allegations.

@FoolNelson People forget that it was Derkach, who, in October 2019, had been the first person to report - with receipts - that Hunter Biden was getting $83,333 per month ($1 million per year) to be a placeholder at Burisma. (US media reported, but did not credit information to Derkach,)

@FoolNelson Kulyk (see ) was a Ukrainian prosecutor who had been lauded by Tetiana Chornovol for his role in recovering $1.5 billion in embezzled funds, despite obstacles by Biden-backed allies embedded within the Ukrainian government. Kulyk later sanctioned by USthreadreaderapp.com/thread/1700539…

@FoolNelson the Smirnov indictment continues with a May 21, 2020 text about Ukraine opening an investigation into corruption revealed by Derkach and Kulyk. This was correct information: Zelensky announced investigation (but later, under pressure, appears to have shut it down)

@FoolNelson Smirnov then sent a picture of Joe and Hunter Biden golfing with Devon Archer, a Burisma director (and long-time Hunter associate.) He was not the only person who incorrectly identified Devon Archer, a Burisma director, as its CEO.

on June 22, 2020, Derkach and Kulyk held a follow-up press conference in which they provided many further details on corruption allegations involving Burisma and Bidens.
en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/6…

next press conference (July 7, 2020) attracted little attention but contained an Aug 2016 Biden-Poroshenko tape that linked both Poroshenko and Biden to the Black Ledger operation that decapitated Manafort as Trump campaign manager. Derkach was then de-platformed by US agencies

as a bit of housekeeping, comparison of the FD1023 (Grassley version) to Indictment shows that Alexander Ostapenko was Associate 1, Burisma 2 = Pozharskiy, Burisma 3= Zlochevsky daughter. Associate 2 is USPER who does not speak Russian and Smirnov's former partner

a few days after the June 22, 2020 Derkach-Kulyk press conference about Biden corruption in Ukraine, FBI Pittsburgh contacted Handler about the previous 1023 report, which had been identified in the course of a preliminary assessment of Ukraine issues commissioned by Deputy AG.

according to the Indictment, on March 1, 2017,
Smirnov reported contact with Burisma, including Pozharskyi's business card. We KNOW that Pozharskyi traveled to Washington and Dallas on March 7-11, 2017, including meetings with Hunter Biden, Cofer Black, Blue Star and Aerotek

then in April 2017, Smirnov and Pozharskyi exchanged emails about how Burisma might do an acquisition of a public company in the US, presumably as a reverse takeover

in May 2017, Burisma informed Ostapenko (Associate 1) that Burisma's objective was a US-based oil and gas company (not an IPO). Ostapenko forwarded email to Smirnov.

in September 2017, there was a (firmly dated) meeting in Kyiv involving Smirnov, Associate 2 (still unknown), Zlochevsky's daughter, at which Burisma declined interest in Associate 2's crypto product. teaser: @walkafyre has something fascinating about this date in Kyiv.

the 2020 FD1023 (see Indictment, para 25) also describes a meeting in Kyiv attended by Associate 2 and Zlochevsky's daughter.

Associate 2's trip to Ukraine in 2017 was his first trip outside the US since 2011. The meeting in Kyiv described in the 2020 FD1023 seems to be a reasonable characterization of the Sept 2017 meeting. However, Weiss accused Smirnov of placing the meeting back in 2015-2016.

@walkafyre (with a typical miracle) connected the Kyiv trip of Smirnov and Associate 2 (his crypto friend) to a crypto conference in Kyiv on Sep 16-19, 2017 - exactly the right dates.
There's a Russiagate easter egg here. Try to find it before reading on starternoise.com/d10e-conferenc…

here's the easter egg. One of the key figures in the Sept 2017 crypto conference in Ukraine that brought Smirnov and Associate 2 to Kyiv was Mike Costache, Sergei Millian's friend. Small world.

Smirnov told the FBI that he and Ostapenko met Zlochevsky in Vienna a couple of months after the meeting with Burisma in Kyiv (with Associate 2 and Zlochevsky's daughter). I've focused here on relative chronology. The Kyiv meeting was in Sept 2017.

The FD1023 cited in the indictment reported that Smirnov "recalled" that the Vienna meeting "took place around the time [Biden] made a pubblic statement about [Shokin] being corrupt and that he should be fired/removed from office". FBI placed the Vienna meeting in late 2015/2016

But watch the pea carefully as to what is explicitly stated and what is assumed.

The Indictment carefully examined travel by key protagonists, but left out one important trip: they didn't discuss when (if ever) Smirnov and Ostapenko visited Vienna? Why not?

If they never visited Vienna, why didnt Weiss include that as a false statement count in indictment?

Here's what I'm wondering - and it's just an idea: placing the Kyiv trip in Sept 2017, Smirnov's relative chronology would place his Vienna meeting with Zlochevsky (if it happened) in late 2017/Jan 2018.
Does that lead anywhere? I think so.

on January 23, 2018, three months after Smirnov's trip to Kyiv with Associate 2, Joe Biden gave his infamous speech about firing Shokin.

the FD1023 placed the meeting in Vienna to late 2015/2016 based on their assumption that the Biden statement about Shokin referred to by Smirnov was Biden's December 2015 demand for Shokin's resignation. This results in inconsistencies and the conclusion that Smirnov lied on date

But if Smirnov was referring to Biden's January 2018 speech, then the dates fall into place. The meeting in Kyiv with Associate 2 and Burisma is then the well-attested Sept 2017 meeting and not some phantom doppelganger meeting in 2015.

To be clear, I know little to nothing about Smirnov; I'm only trying to read the documents precisely. But the more that I think about it, the more plausible this interpretation seems to me.

Let's turn to specific counts. Weiss said, using quotation marks, that 'Defendant's claim that "in late 2015/2016 during the Obama/Biden Administration" he first met with Burisma Official 2...'

But I don't see any DIRECT statement by Smirnov that he met Burisma executives "in late 2015 or 2016". Maybe Smirnov did SAY that, but it is entirely possible (and IMO even probable) that those dates were calculated by the FBI working backwards from an interpretation.

similarly, Weiss' charge relating to the Vienna meeting depends on the interpretation of the Biden speech cited by Smirnov as being the Dec 9, 2015 speech to the Rada, rather than the Jan 23, 2018 speech to the CFR in Washington.

to be clear, this closing part of the thread is speculation. I welcome criticism of the idea presented here.

Kevin Clinesmith's lies about Carter Page and Crossfire Hurricane were much, much worse than the (unproven) allegations that Smirnov got his dates wrong. Why should Smirnov be held without bail on questionable charges?

picking up the thread once again this morning: according to proposed chronology, the Vienna meeting between Zlo, Smirnov [and Ostapenko] took place around time of Joe's notorious CFR speech on Jan 23, 2018. A date which occurs in Weiss narrative without mentioning Joe's speech😄

paragraph 30 is based on documents (not the distorted chronology of the 2020 FD1023). Associate 2 met Smirnov in London on Jan 23, 2018 - the VERY day that Joe Biden made his notorious and boastful speech at CFR about firing Shokin.

Smirnov reportedly told Associate 2 that he had received a call from Zlochevsky about potential business. So Smirnov and Associate 2 made a second trip to Kyiv (first was in Sep 2017), this time meeting with Pozharsky in English. Once again, Burisma wasnt interested in crypto.

as mentioned previously, the Indictment, otherwise very detailed about travel, did not contain ANY information on Smirnov trips to Vienna, and, in particular, around the time of Joe's speech to CFR. However, we now know Smirnov was in London on Jan 23, 2018.

Here's another amazing doppelganger. The document-based narrative (para 31p) reports Smirnov and Associate 2 in London in Jan 2018, when Smirnov reported call from Zlochevsky. The questionable 2020 FD1023 reported Smirnov and Associate 1 in London in 2019 when Zlochevsky called.

Jan 2018 call from Zlochevsky was received when Smirnov and Associate 2 were at Hotel Baglioni in London; at time of "2019" call (questioned by Weiss) from Zlochevsky, Smirnov met Associate 1 near Harrod's, a short walk from Hotel Baglioni.

These details pertain to the count in 57d about an alleged lie about a 2019 phone call between Zlochevsky and Associate 1 (which Weiss refutes.) Question: did the (screwy) 2020 FD1023 garble this date as well? Not obvious that it didn't.

CONCLUSIONS
Let's review the chronology defenses to counts in para 57.
57a: Smirnov did not claim that he met Pozharzky in "late 2015/2016". He met Pozh in Sep 2017 in Kyiv. Meeting was in Russian and presumably Smirnov stands by his claim. Associate 2 didn't speak Russian.

57b: Smirnov arguably met Zlochevsky in Vienna around time of Joe's speech to CFR in Jan 2018 (NOT Dec 2015) and Smirnov stands by his claim

57c. Smirnov's telephone conversation with Zlochevsky in late Feb 2017 was reported to FBI in real time and noted in 3/1/2017 FD1023 (which mentioned references to Hunter Biden but said they were "not relevant"). Smirnov stands by his comments.

57d. Smirnov argues that the 2020 FD1023 is a garbled version of his telephone call with Zlochevsky while in London on Jan 23, 2018 with Associate 2 (and maybe Associate 1) when Joe made his notorious CFR speech. No wonder Zlochevsky thought Smirnov was an oracle.

Q.E.D.

next

McCarthy discusses strange handling of Weiss case from a different and just as troubling angle.
nationalreview.com/2024/02/david-…

@PaulGraham11980 The events described in FD1023 prior to the heading "Subsquent" ... are doppelganger descriptions of the late 2017-early 2018 events, as described in the thread.