Feds rearrest Burisma bribery source just days after judge first released him

Federal law enforcement personnel rearrested the FBI source behind claims that a Ukrainian energy company bribed Hunter and Joe Biden days after a judge ordered him to be released, according to a court filing.

Alexander Smirnov — the FBI source who told agents that Burisma executives discussed paying Hunter Biden and Joe Biden $5 million each to leverage U.S. policy in Ukraine to the company’s benefit — was arrested again Thursday pursuant to the same charges and same indictment that resulted in his arrest on Feb. 14, according to a legal filing. Smirnov was apparently at his attorney’s office in Las Vegas engaging in a legal consultation when authorities nabbed him again on Thursday.

Smirnov Rearrest Filing by Nick Pope on Scribd

The government attempted to secure pretrial detention for Smirnov following his first arrest because it deemed him to be a flight risk, but a federal judge ordered that he could be released on certain conditions, according to legal filings. The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged in its Feb. 14 indictment against Smirnov that he lied to the FBI when he described Burisma executives paying off Joe and Hunter Biden, and a subsequent filing arguing for his pretrial detention detailed Smirnov’s contacts with individuals connected to Russian intelligence.

“Mr. Smirnov was rearrested on an arrest warrant issued from the same Court where he was planning on voluntarily appearing when required. He had previously been released by a federal Magistrate Judge after a full and complete hearing where both sides were heard. He was inside our law office at the time of his arrest, preparing his defense,” his counsel said in a statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We are pursuing lawful remedies to once again seek his release.”

“Mr. Smirnov’s research into available remedies (including a petition for a writ of habeas corpus) are ongoing,” the filing states. “At present, however, Mr. Smirnov respectfully requests that this Honorable Court set his second initial appearance ‘without unnecessary delay’ which, under these bizarre circumstances, mean: forthwith, and order his release. Alternatively, Mr. Smirnov requests an emergency hearing before the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.”

The DOJ did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

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