Feb. 20 (UPI) — A former FBI informant charged with lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden‘s involvement in a Ukraine energy company was ordered released under conditions Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday argued to keep Alexander Smirnov, 43, in custody pending his trial due to his “extensive foreign ties.” They also claimed Smirnov admitted “officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story” about Hunter Biden.
Smirnov was arrested last week in Las Vegas after returning on an international flight and faces one count of making a false statement and one count of creating a false and fictitious record regarding statements he made to the FBI after Biden became president in 2020.
He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors also argued Smirnov’s foreign intelligence contacts could resettle him if he tried to flee the country.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts, however, ruled the federal government failed to make its case and instead ordered Smirnov be released until trial under conditions that included GPS monitoring.
An indictment by Special Counsel David Weiss alleged Smirnov fabricated stories involving executives at Ukrainian energy company Burisma. According to the narrative, Burisma leaders in 2015 and 2016 told Smirnov they hired Hunter Biden to “protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems.”
Smirnov also claimed Burisma paid both Bidens each $5 million while Joe Biden was vice president, so his son could “take care of all those issues through his dad,” referring to criminal investigations into Burisma at the time.
Hunter Biden’s attorneys in a memo argued it “should have been obvious to everyone” that Smirnov was lying, noting the investigation based on those lies closed in August 2020, when appointees by former President Donald Trump headed the Justice Department.
His attorneys also criticized Weiss’ office for taking months to conclude that Smirnov’s claims were fake.
“The more interesting part of this story is not that Mr. Smirnov lied,” Hunter Biden’s attorneys wrote. “It is more remarkable that beginning in July 2023, the special counsel’s team would follow Mr. Smirnov down his rabbit hole of lies as long as it did.”
House Republicans have long leaned on Smirnov’s now-discredited testimony for their impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the Judiciary Committee chairman helping lead the investigation, has called Smirnov’s claims the “most corroborating evidence” Republicans had.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., however, tried to distance himself from the claims, despite previously threatening to hold the FBI director in contempt for not wanting to disclose the unvetted testimony.