Informant who allegedly lied about the Bidens is rearrested

Alexander Smirnov was taken into custody to await trial after prosecutors argued he was a potential flight risk

Feb 23, 20240

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Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, second from right, leaves the courthouse on Tuesday, Feb. 20 in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/AP)

The FBI informant charged with telling lies about President Biden and his son Hunter was rearrested Thursday in Las Vegas, apparently out of concern he might flee - just days after a federal magistrate decided he could be released on bond.

Alexander Smirnov, whose arrest last week surprised Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike, was taken into custody again Thursday morning in his lawyer's office. Prosecutors had argued that Smirnov's claims of having significant relationships with Russian intelligence operatives, as well as millions of dollars at his disposal, meant that he was a flight risk.

"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.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/02/22/fbi-informant-biden-smirnov-arrest/