The former informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Alexander Smirnov, who was said to have lied about his claims of Hunter Biden's Ukrainian links, has been returned to US custody.
The 43-year-old was initially arrested by law enforcement authorities on Thursday morning while he was meeting with his lawyers at their offices in downtown Las Vegas. The development came after prosecutors requested a judge in California to reconsider the defendant's custody status while awaiting trial.
Former FBI Informant Returns to US Custody
The defendant's attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld said that they wanted an immediate hearing regarding his detention, noting that they would work on his release. A Las Vegas judge gave prosecutors a deadline of Friday afternoon to respond to Smimnov's motion for a new hearing.
A copy of the arrest warrant that the defendant's lawyers included as an exhibit in their request for the new hearing showed that he was taken into custody on the same charges. This was making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record, as per WKYT.
Prosecutors claimed that Smirnov lied to his FBI handler when he said that executives from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid United States President Joe Biden and Hunter $5 million each in 2015. That particular claim became the centerpiece of the Republican impeachment inquiry of the Democratic leader in Congress.
Smirnov has not yet entered a plea to the charges filed against him but his lawyers said that their client is presumed innocent. They also said that they are looking forward to defending him at his trial.
A Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel David Weiss spokesman confirmed on Thursday that Smirnov has been arrested once again. However, they did not have additional comments regarding the situation. The chief marshal in Las Vegas, Garu Schofield, said that the defendant is now in the custody of US Marshals in Nevada.
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Lying to the FBI
A magistrate judge in Nevada ordered Smirnov's release under conditions that included GPS monitoring after his first hearing on Tuesday. The alleged lies that the defendant made include claims that he met with Russian intelligence officials a few months ago, according to NBC News.
Officials also argued that Smirnov is "actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November." Weiss' office, which is the one that charged the suspect, did not respond to requests for comment regarding the latest development.
The allegations made by Smirnov, who is an Israeli citizen, were never verified by the FBI and are considered crucial in House Republicans' effort to impeach Biden. The GOP-led inquiry seeks to determine whether the Democratic leader used his influence to aid his son's business endeavors.
The DOJ noted that the defendant had "routine and unextraordinary" contacts with Burisma in 2017. It was a time when Biden was not working in the White House and after the Ukrainian prosecutor general was fired.
On the other hand, Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer downplayed Smirnovs' bribery allegations in the Republicans' impeachment inquiry. He said that the probe is based on a large record of evidence, such as bank records and witness testimony, said Forbes.
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