Judge orders Burisma source accused of lying to FBI to stay in jail while awaiting trial

A former FBI informant who claimed that Hunter and Joe Biden took bribes from a Ukrainian energy conglomerate will remain in jail as he awaits trial for allegedly lying to federal agents, The Washington Post reported.

U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II ruled Monday that Alexander Smirnov — a former federal informant who told authorities that Joe and Hunter Biden each accepted $5 million in bribes from Burisma Holdings — will remain in jail amid concern he may try to flee the country if released, the Post reported. Smirnov had previously been arrested on Feb. 14, conditionally released, and then rearrested on Feb. 22.

Prosecutors argued last week that his foreign contacts and considerable funds made him a flight risk and that he should remain detained, the Post reported.

The Department of Justice filed a memorandum with the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada on Feb. 20 claiming that Smirnov was said to have had “high-level” contacts with intelligence operatives in Russia. Smirnov’s lawyers argued that their client’s family residing in America made him unlikely to flee the country, according to the Post.

Smirnov pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday, the Post reported.

Prosecutors portrayed Smirnov as a serial liar in a court document filed on Feb. 20, The New York Times reported. One prosecutor involved in investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, however, described Smirnov last year as an “important confidential human source” who “had been used in other investigations,” according to NYT.

The information provided by Smirnov to federal agents became the basis of a June 2020 FD-1023 form detailing the alleged bribery scheme. A source in the DOJ leaked the document to Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who disclosed it to the public in July 2023.

Smirnov’s lawyer did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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