By Steve Neavling
The FBI informant charged with fabricating bribery claims about President Biden and his son was rearrested Thursday in Las Vegas, just days after a judge allowed him to be released on bond.
Alexander Smirnov was in his lawyers office when he was taken back into custody, The Washington Post reports.
Federal prosecutors argued he was a flight risk because of his relationships with Russian intelligence operatives and money he had at his disposal.
“He was inside our law office at the time of his arrest, preparing his defense,” Smirnov’s attorneys, David Z. Chesnoff and Richard A. Schonfeld, said in a statement.
Defense lawyers blasted their clients rearrest in a court filing, calling it “bizarre” and asked for him to be released again.
“At no time since his release on February 20, 2024 has Mr. Smirnov left Clark County, Nevada,” the lawyers wrote.
Smirnov is accused of manufacturing a false corruption case against the Bidens. He was charged last week with fabricating claims that Biden and his son each sought $5 million in bribes from a Ukrainian energy company.
In a court filing earlier this week, the Justice Department said Smirnov told prosecutors that he had “extensive” contacts with Russian intelligence agencies. Officials associated with those agencies told Smirnov about the false Biden claims, prosecutors said.
“Smirnov’s efforts to spread misinformation about a candidate of one of the two major parties in the United States continues,” the court filing states. “What this shows is that the misinformation he is spreading is not confined to 2020. He is actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November. In light of that fact there is a serious risk he will flee in order to avoid accountability for his actions.”
