What The Smirnov Indictment… Really Reveals: Do Read EmptyWheel, On It All.

First, the caveats: if you’ve not closely followed the actual court filings, you are likely operating from a convoluted series of false narratives, and premises — largely created by hard-right media outlets. [Cough; Power-liners.]

But if you’ve been reading the actual filings and motions, then you know. EmptyWheel is by far the most reliable narrator you’ll ever find, on matters Hunter Biden.

And so, today — please do read all of hers, here — she offers a “kill-shot” of sorts, on the whole Cotton / GOP / MAGA bullcrap mischaracterization of / about the 51 former intelligence agents’ letter.

She also makes plain that more than a few career AUSAs were simply trying to apply the law, as written. Nothing more.

And that the then AG (Bill Barr) was trying his level best to “muddy the waters” with various forms of stupid agit-prop distractions. These have caught up to… Smirnov.

See EW’s concluding bit here — but do read it all:

…It seems clear that Lesley Wolf left the Smirnov allegation well enough alone, knowing that the project generally was producing garbage that could only endanger the case.

Leo Wise seemingly used the Smirnov allegation as an excuse to reopen the case against the President’s son, only to discover it opened a nasty can of worms. It gave Abbe Lowell the evidence to prove that the prosecution of Hunter Biden was infected by an effort by the Attorney General to accommodate the dirt that Trump’s lawyers picked up from Russian spies. And it gave Wise a real headache of a prosecution to deal with.

Lesley Wolf probably didn’t decline all the garbage from Scott Brady for noble reasons. She was just protecting her case. But having made the opposite decision, Wise may end up blowing that case.

You know who is vindicated by the Alexander Smirnov indictment? Lesley Wolf….