A former FBI informant accused of lying about multimillion-dollar bribery allegations against President Joe Biden and his son Hunter and purportedly having links to Russian intelligence was again taken into custody Thursday, two days after a judge said he could be freed ahead of trial, his attorneys said in court documents.
Quick Read
- Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant with dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship, was taken back into custody on Thursday, following an appeal by prosecutors against a judge’s decision to release him with a GPS monitor before his trial.
- Smirnov faces charges for allegedly lying to the FBI and creating a false record, particularly concerning accusations of multimillion-dollar bribes involving President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, linked to Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
- His re-arrest occurred during a meeting with his attorneys at their office in downtown Las Vegas, based on a warrant from California, where the original case was filed.
- The Justice Department’s special counsel David Weiss confirmed the re-arrest of Smirnov, who is at the center of claims that became a focal point in the Republican-led impeachment inquiry in Congress.
The Associated Press has the story:
Ex-FBI source accused of lying about Bidens is returned to US custody
Newslooks- LAS VEGAS (AP) —
A former FBI informant accused of lying about multimillion-dollar bribery allegations against President Joe Biden and his son Hunter and purportedly having links to Russian intelligence was again taken into custody Thursday, two days after a judge said he could be freed ahead of trial, his attorneys said in court documents.
The arrest during a meeting Thursday morning with his lawyers comes after prosecutors appealed a ruling allowing 43-year-old Alexander Smirnov, who holds dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship, to be released with a GPS monitor ahead of trial on charges alleging he lied to the FBI.
He was taken into custody on a warrant for the same charges issued in California, where the case was originally filed, his lawyers said. Several sealed entries were listed in the court docket, but no additional details about his return to custody were immediately available.
A spokesman for Justice Department special counsel David Weiss confirmed Smirnov had been arrested again.
Smirnov is charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record.
According to attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, Smirnov was arrested Thursday morning at their law offices in downtown Las Vegas on the same charges. The lawyers did not immediately respond to phone and text message requests for further comment.
Prosecutors say Smirnov falsely told his handler that executives from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid President Biden and Hunter Biden $5 million each around 2015. The claim became central to the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress.
