Ex-FBI informant charged in LA with lying about Biden family re-arrested
FILE – Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, second from right, leaves the courthouse on Feb. 20, 2024, in Las Vegas. A federal judge in California will consider whether Smirnov, who was charged with lying about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family, must remain behind bars while he awaits trial. U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II has set a hearing for Monday, Feb. 26 in Los Angeles on prosecutors’ request to keep Smirnov in jail. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)
LOS ANGELES – An ex-FBI informant charged with fabricating corruption allegations against President Joe Biden and his son was re-arrested Thursday in Las Vegas after federal agents appeared at his lawyers’ offices with an arrest warrant out of Los Angeles, according to court papers.
Alexander Smirnov, 43, of Las Vegas, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, was first arrested last week in Las Vegas and set free by a magistrate judge on Tuesday. He was re-arrested Thursday on a new warrant for the false statement charges, signed by U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II, who will oversee the case in downtown Los Angeles, court papers show.
Federal prosecutors allege that Smirnov lied to his FBI handler, whom he worked with for more than a decade, and should not be trusted. He also has extensive contacts in Russia and elsewhere, prosecutors said in a court filing, and lied to authorities about his “access to over $6 million in liquid funds – more than enough money for him to live comfortably overseas for the rest of his life.”
Smirnov’s lawyers have denied that their client would flee the country or otherwise try to escape prosecution. They said in a filing Thursday that Smirnov has remained fully compliant with his conditions of release since his court-ordered release Tuesday.
Defense attorneys requested an emergency hearing in front of the chief judge of the district of Nevada.
A grand jury indictment accuses Smirnov of making false allegations to FBI agents in June 2020, when he allegedly told them about meetings with an executive from Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company which employed Hunter Biden as an attorney and later as a member of its corporate board.
He also allegedly told agents that the Burisma executives made $5 million payments to both Joe and Hunter Biden when Joe Biden was vice president, court papers show.
Hunter Biden faces federal charges related to an illegal purchase and possession of a gun, as well as nine tax-related charges in Los Angeles for his alleged failure to pay $1.4 million in taxes owed between 2016 and 2019, according to federal prosecutors. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases. (CNS)
