Feb. 22 (UPI) — The informant charged with lying to the FBI about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s dealings with a Ukraine energy company was rearrested Thursday.
Court documents state Alexander Smirnov, 43, was arrested during a meeting with his attorneys in Nevada after prosecutors appealed a judge’s decision Tuesday to let him walk.
Smirnov’s defense lawyers on Thursday confirmed their client was rearrested on the same charges, signed by federal district Judge Otis Wright, who will oversee the case out of California.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts in Nevada previously ordered Smirnov be released with a GPS monitor until his trial.
The judge’s decision rebuked claims from the Justice Department that Smirnov should be detained due to his ties to Russian intelligence.
Justice Department prosecutors said Smirnov admitted officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in planting the false narrative of Hunter Biden’s involvement with Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
Prosecutors also alleged Smirnov made plans to leave the United States to meet with “multiple foreign intelligence agencies” who could relocate him.
The unusual move means Smirnov will have to argue for his release once more. Prosecutors said they already plan to reassert their same concerns to the California judge.
Smirnov was arrested last Thursday in Nevada on two felony false statement charges for allegedly lying to the FBI. Among many false claims were his that the president and his son each received $5 million bribes from Burisma, according to the indictment.
The House GOP-led impeachment inquiry of the president has long used Smirnov’s now discredited claims as the basis for its investigation into the Bidens.
Smirnov faces a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted. He has not yet entered a plea.
