LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥 A federal judge has denied the U.S. government's request to release from prison a former FBI informant who made up a story about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter accepting bribes that later became central to Republicans鈥 impeachment effort.
The decision, issued Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Otis Wright in Los Angeles, comes weeks after a new prosecutor reassigned to Alexander Smirnov's case asking for his release while he appeals his conviction. In the motion, the U.S. government had said it would review its 鈥渢heory of the case.鈥
Wright said in his written order that Smirnov is still flight risk, even if prosecutors say they will review his case.
"The fact remains that Smirnov has been convicted and sentenced to seventy-two months in prison, providing ample incentive to flee," he said.
Smirnov, 44, was in January after pleading guilty to tax evasion and lying to the FBI about the phony bribery scheme, which was described by the previous prosecutors assigned to the case as an effort to influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
His attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, told The Associated Press in a text that they will appeal the judge's decision and 鈥渃ontinue to advocate for Mr. Smirnov's release.鈥 The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles declined to comment.
Smirnov had been originally prosecuted by former Justice Department special counsel David Weiss, who resigned in January days before President Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second term.
Smirnov has been in custody since after returning to the U.S. from overseas.
Smirnov, a dual U.S. and Israeli citizen, falsely claimed to his FBI handler that around 2015, executives from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma had paid then-Vice President Biden and his son $5 million each.
The explosive claim in 2020 came after Smirnov expressed "bias鈥 about Biden as a presidential candidate, according to prosecutors at the time. In reality, investigators found Smirnov had only routine business dealings with Burisma starting in 2017 鈥 after Biden's term as vice president.
Authorities said Smirnov's false claim 鈥渟et off a firestorm in Congress鈥 when it resurfaced years later as part of the House impeachment inquiry into Biden, who won the presidency over Trump in 2020. The Biden administration dismissed the impeachment effort as a 鈥渟tunt.鈥
Weiss also brought gun and tax charges against Hunter Biden, who was supposed to be sentenced in December after being and . But by his father, who said he believed 鈥渞aw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.鈥
___
Follow the AP's coverage of Hunter Biden at .
