A former FBI informant accused of lying to officials about an alleged multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden and his son Hunter was arrested again in Las Vegas on Thursday morning, two days after a judge ordered him to be released from custody.
Alexander Smirnov, 43, was arrested at his attorneys’ office on a warrant issued out of California, where the case was initially filed, according to court documents filed Thursday by defense lawyers David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld.
Two days earlier in Las Vegas, U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts had ordered Smirnov’s release, finding that prosecutors did not prove that it was necessary to hold Smirnov in custody to ensure he would appear in court.
Prosecutors appealed the decision.
Chesnoff and Schonfeld alleged that re-arresting Smirnov, who has lived in Las Vegas for two years, was an “interference with his cherished Sixth Amendment rights,” according to a motion filed Thursday for Smirnov’s release from custody.
“We are pursuing lawful remedies to once again seek his release,” the lawyers wrote in a statement.
Albregts ruled that prosecutors have until Friday afternoon to respond to the emergency motion requesting Smirnov’s release, according to court records.
Smirnov’s attorneys wrote that when prosecutors filed court papers on Wednesday requesting a new detention hearing, they did not reference the unserved arrest warrant in California.
Several sealed entries were listed in the court docket, but no additional details about Smirnov’s return to custody were immediately available.
“It should further be noted that the fact that the Defendant was attending a legal consultation meeting at his attorneys’ office contradicts the notion that he is a risk of flight,” according to Thursday’s motion from Chesnoff and Schonfeld.
Prosecutors say Smirnov falsely told his handler that executives from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid President Biden and Hunter Biden $5 million each around 2015. The claim became central to the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. The Associated Press contributed to this story.