How is an ex-FBI informant charged with lying about Bidens allegedly linked to Russian intelligence?

The explosive allegations at the center of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden were false, federal prosecutors said, and came from an ex-FBI informant who said he was in touch with Russian intelligence.

The informant, Alexander Smirnov, is “actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections,” federal prosecutors said Wednesday, as they appealed to a judge to keep him behind bars ahead of trial on charges alleging he lied to the FBI about a phony multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving the Bidens and the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

Defense attorneys have not directly addressed prosecutors’ claims about Russian intelligence contacts but said they look forward to defending him at trial. Republicans in Congress have distanced themselves from Smirnov's claims and resisted calls to end the impeachment inquiry.

Here's a look at what's known about Smirnov, the case against him and fears about potential effects on U.S. elections:

WHO IS ALEXANDER SMIRNOV?

Smirnov had been an informant since 2010, growing close to an FBI handler he spoke to “nearly every day," prosecutors said in court documents. He met with Burisma executives starting in the spring of 2017 because the company was interested in buying an American company and making an initial public offering on a US stock exchange, according to court documents.

Prosecutors say he has access to more than $6 million, with some money held in the name of his longtime partner. His recent reports to his handler included the guest lists from parties on mega yachts with Russian oligarchs, prosecutors said.

He holds dual Israeli-US citizenship and lived in Israel for more than a decade, later moving to Los Angeles and finally Las Vegas in 2022, prosecutors