A former FBI informant accused of lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s alleged dealings with a Ukrainian energy company has been extradited to California, where he is scheduled to face a judge. There is.
Alexander Smirnov, 43, was ordered extradited to California and is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. local time on Monday. He was released by a Nevada judge earlier this week.
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Former FBI intelligence officer Alexander Smirnov (center) leaves a Las Vegas courthouse on Tuesday. Prosecutors said Smirnov, who is accused of concocting a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and a Ukrainian energy company, was in contact with Russian intelligence officials. It is said that there was contact. (BizIif Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal, via AP)
A California judge ordered Smirnov’s re-arrest on Thursday after federal prosecutors claimed he was a dual citizen. US and Israeli citizenshipthere was a flight hazard.
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors asked a judge to keep Mr. Smirnov in custody ahead of his trial on charges that he allegedly lied to the FBI about a fake multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving the Bidens and Ukrainians. , said he had lied “that could influence the U.S. election.” energy company Burisma;
Prosecutors allege that Mr. Smirnov falsely told his handlers that Burisma executives had paid Mr. Biden and his son Hunter Biden $5 million each around 2015. This allegation was at the center of the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress.
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President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for the U.S. World Food Program)
But federal prosecutors said Mr. Smirnov had only had routine business dealings with the company since 2017 and committed the bribery charges after he “expressed bias” against then-presidential candidate Mr. Biden. Special Counsel David Weiss said Smirnov’s lies were aimed at influencing the 2024 presidential election.
He is charged with making false statements and creating false and fictitious records. The charges were filed in Los Angeles.
Burisma Holdings headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine, 2020. (Evgeny Maloletka/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Mr. Smirnov was arrested Thursday at his lawyer’s office in downtown Las Vegas. FOX News Digital has reached out to Smirnov’s attorney.
Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
