Former FBI Informant Arrested Again for Lying About Bidens

(UnitedHeadlines.com) – Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, 43, was re-arrested in Las Vegas on Feb. 22, after a California judge issued a warrant for his arrest on the same charges as his first arrest, that he allegedly lied about the Biden family’s foreign business dealings.

Smirnov was released Feb. 20 after being arrested and charged with making false statements to his FBI handler regarding Hunter Biden and President Joe Biden each receiving $5 million from a Ukrainian energy company. House Republicans have used Smirnov’s allegations against the Biden family in their impeachment inquiry into the president.

In Nevada, his attorneys argued he was not a flight risk, and the U.S. magistrate judge Daniel Albregts ordered Smirnov to be released under the conditions that he surrender his passport, stay in the area, and wear a GPS monitor.

A California judge disagreed with Albregts’ ruling and issued a warrant for Smirnov’s arrest two days after Albregts ruled that Smirnov could be released. On Feb. 22, Smirnov, who holds dual Israeli and U.S. citizenship, was re-arrested while meeting with his attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld. In a statement, his attorneys said he was re-arrested, although he intended to appear voluntarily at the federal court when required.

His attorneys argued that he was not a flight risk. However, federal prosecutors argued Smirnov should not be trusted. They claimed that his story about Hunter Biden was linked to people “associated with Russian intelligence” and that he has contacts with other foreign intelligence services. They also said he has access to $6 million in liquid funds.

Smirnov’s attorneys argued U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II, who will oversee the case, did not have the authority to issue the warrant to have Smirnov re-arrested in an emergency petition filed with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court denied the emergency petition, and Smirnov appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom Feb. 26, where Wright ruled Smirnov must be detained while he awaits trial.