FBI informant charged with lying about Biden could threaten US elections with Russian intel, DOJ warns

A former FBI informant charged with fabricating corruption allegations against President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden is “actively peddling new lies” that threaten US elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials, according to federal law enforcement.

Alexander Smirnov – who allegedly “provided false derogatory information” about the president and his son in interviews with the FBI – told authorities that he has “extensive and extremely recent” contacts with foreign intelligence officials, according to the US Department of Justice.

A court filing from the office of special counsel David Weiss on Tuesday seeking Mr Smirnov’s pretrial detention claims that he has “contacts with multiple foreign intelligence agencies and had plans to leave the United States two days” following last week’s arrest.

After his arrest, he told law enforcement that “officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story” about Hunter Biden, prosecutors wrote.

Mr Smirnov “has reported numerous contacts” with a Russian intelligence official described as “the son of a former high-ranking Russian government official, someone who purportedly controls two groups of individuals tasked with carrying out assassination efforts in a third-party country, a Russian representative to another country, and as someone with ties to a particular Russian intelligence service,” according to the filing.

His “anticipated travel … was for the purpose of meeting with Russian intelligence officials, among others,” prosecutors wrote.

His efforts to “spread misinformation” about the president is ongoing, they added.

“The misinformation he is spreading is not confined to 2020. He is actively peddling new lies that could impact US