A federal judge in California on Friday ordered Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant charged with lying to the bureau about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, to appear in court Monday morning as the judge considers keeping Smirnov detained pending trial.
Special counsel David Weiss is again seeking to have Smirnov, who is currently in custody, held until his trial date.
In an unusual filing Friday afternoon, District Judge Otis Wright also suggested that an effort by Smirnov’s attorneys to keep him out on release was “likely to facilitate his absconding from the United States.”
Smirnov’s attorneys, in a subsequent filing late Friday, disputed Judge Wright’s characterization, saying, “The suggestion that defense counsel is participating in an unlawful plot by advocating for release under Section 3142 is wrong.”
“We are advocating for Mr. Smirnov’s release in both the federal district court and in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,” attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld told ABC News.
Judge Wright’s order is just latest twist in a dramatic week of events since Smirnov’s arrest last Thursday on charges that he concocted “fabrications” about President Biden and his son accepting $5 million in bribes from the Ukrainian energy giant Burisma — which Republicans have repeatedly cited as a driving force in their efforts to impeach the president.
Earlier this week, in an effort to keep Smirnov detained, Weiss’ office alleged Smirnov had high-level contacts with Russian intelligence officials who they said were “involved in passing a story” to him about Hunter Biden.
In this Jan. 10, 2024 file photo, Hunter Biden is seen at a House Oversight Committee markup and meeting on Capitol Hill, in Washington.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, FILE
“Smirnov’s efforts to spread misinformation about a candidate of one of the two major parties in the United States continues,” the filing stated. “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.”
Arguing that Smirnov presented a clear risk of fleeing the country or obstructing justice if released on bail, prosecutors repeatedly pointed to Smirnov’s extensive claims of contacts with “multiple foreign intelligence agencies” abroad and his plans to leave the U.S. on a multi-country foreign trip just two days after he landed in Las Vegas last week and was taken into custody at the airport.
Despite the surprising extent of disclosures by Weiss in his filing seeking Smirnov’s detention, however, a Nevada magistrate judge ordered Smirnov’ released from custody on the condition that he surrender his passport, wear an ankle monitor and be restricted from travel outside of Nevada and California.
The government sought a stay of the judge’s decision, which was rejected, after which Weiss’ prosecutors sought reconsideration by the original judge overseeing his case in Los Angeles, where Smirnov was indicted by a grand jury.
On Thursday morning, Smirnov’s attorneys said they were deliberating with him over his case at their law office when U.S. Marshals arrived to re-arrest him.
In an effort to prevent him from being transferred to Los Angeles, his attorneys filed an emergency motion with the magistrate in Nevada requesting an order that would bar the U.S. Marshals from taking him out of Las Vegas.
But in his order filed Friday, Judge Wright explained that he signed off on the warrant for Smirnov’s arrest after granting Weiss’ request for a reconsideration of the detention order, which advised the U.S. Marshals “there is to be no deviation from this Order.”
As a result, the Nevada magistrate judge dismissed the requests from Smirnov’s attorneys, conceding “this Court no longer has jurisdiction to decide [Smirnov’s] motions.”
Smirnov is now set to appear before Judge Wright on Monday morning in Los Angeles.
Smirnov has not entered a plea in the case but his attorneys have said he plans to vigorously defend himself against the charges brought by Weiss.
A spokesperson for Weiss’ office declined to comment further.
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