Ex-FBI source accused of lying about Bidens and having Russian contacts is returned to US custody

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former FBI informant who claims to have links to Russian intelligence and is charged with lying about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family was again taken into custody Thursday in Las Vegas, two days after a judge released him.

Alexander Smirnov, 43, was arrested Thursday morning while meeting with his lawyers at their offices in downtown Las Vegas. It came after prosecutors asked a judge in California, where the case originally was filed, to reconsider Smirnov’s custody status while he awaits trial. No hearing was held before he was arrested.

His attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said in a statement they want an immediate hearing on his detention and will again push for his release. A judge in Las Vegas gave prosecutors until Friday afternoon to respond to Smirnov’s motion for a new hearing.

A copy of the arrest warrant that Smirnov’s lawyers included as an exhibit in their request for the new hearing shows he was arrested on the same charges — making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«MORE COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> MORE COVERAGE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> FBI informant charged with lying about Joe and Hunter Biden’s ties to Ukrainian energy company </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> How is an ex-FBI informant charged with lying about Bidens allegedly linked to Russian intelligence? <use xlink:href="#play-icon" xmlns:xlink=«http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink»> </bsp-custom-headline>