Ex-FBI informant linked to Joe, Hunter Biden appeals detention order
A former FBI informant has appealed a judge’s decision to hold him in federal custody pending trial on charges that he lied to government officials about an alleged multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden and his son.
Alexander Smirnov, 43, is accused of falsely reporting to the FBI that executives with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Biden and his son Hunter Biden $5 million each in the alleged bribery scheme — a claim that has become central to a Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress.
Last month, a federal judge in California ordered Smirnov to be held in custody pending trial, reversing a Las Vegas judge’s prior decision.
His Las Vegas defense attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, filed an appeal on Friday in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, asking the court to either release Smirnov or order another detention hearing for him.
The 43-page appeal criticized U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II’s ruling to keep Smirnov in custody, alleging his orders lacked detailed reasoning.
“When a lower court’s ‘reasons for (its detention) order’ amount to a few offhand remarks and the rote checking of a box in a form order, effective appellate review… becomes impossible,” defense attorneys wrote in Friday’s documents.
A response had not been filed by prosecutors as of Monday afternoon. Prosecutors have 10 days from the filing of the appeal to respond, according to an online court docket.
Prosecutors have alleged that Smirnov is a flight risk with ties to Russian foreign intelligence.
After spending 16 years in California, Smirnov lived in Las Vegas for two years in his significant other’s luxury condominium overlooking the Strip, according to court documents and property records.
Smirnov was initially arrested Feb. 14 at Harry Reid International Airport after returning from a trip overseas, prosecutors have said. U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts ordered Smirnov’s release on Feb. 20, finding that restrictive conditions were enough to ensure Smirnov would appear for future court appearances.
Two days later, officials re-arrested Smirnov at his attorneys’ office, after Wright signed an additional arrest warrant.
Prosecutors have also accused Smirnov of being a danger to the public, and said officials arrested him at his attorneys’ office because he had nine firearms and an assault rifle in his home. Defense attorneys have argued that Smirnov’s weapons were legally obtained.
In arguing for his release, Smirnov’s attorneys stated that he has given up his U.S. and Israeli passports, and they have offered to hire private security to keep watch on Smirnov’s whereabouts.
Although Smirnov is accused of making false claims to the FBI in 2020, prosecutors have also written that Smirnov reported his most recent “misinformation story” when interviewed by investigators in September.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.
