Ex-FBI informant charged with lying about Biden and Hunter is ordered to stay in jail ahead of trial

The former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who has been charged with lying about Joe and Hunter Biden, has been ordered by a California judge to stay in jail.

The 43-year-old appeared in a federal court in Los Angeles on Monday after being transported to the Golden State from Las Vegas, Nevada.

“There is nothing garden variety about this case,” Judge Otis Wright said on Monday, the AP reported. “I have not changed my mind. The man will be remanded pending trial.”

His court hearing comes after he was arrested twice within a week, being detained by US Marshals on Thursday morning at his lawyer’s office in Las Vegas.

The hearing was called to determine if prosecutors were correct in arresting him just two days after he was released on an order from a magistrate judge, who required Mr Smirnov to hand over his passports and wear a monitoring device.

Alexander Smirnov, second from right, leaves the courthouse on 20 February 2024, in Las Vegas

The prosecution has argued that his detention was needed to protect national security and stop him from fleeing abroad.

Last week, prosecutors indicted Mr Smirnov in California, where Special Counsel David Weiss has also brought tax charges against Hunter Biden in the state.

When an attorney for the special counsel argued at the initial detention hearing on Tuesday that Mr Smirnov could flee to Russia, the judge agreed with the defence team.

“My guess is at this stage he probably thinks that’s not the most attractive place to go if he was in fact inclined to go hide somewhere,” the judge stated at the time.

Mr Smirnov, who has claimed to have connections to Russian intelligence, has been charged with making up a bribery scheme worth millions involving the Bidens. He allegedly