A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request from senior Justice Department officials in Washington to release Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant who pleaded guilty to lying about Hunter Biden and evading taxes. The judge said the facts of the case had not changed and Smirnov remained a flight risk.
Smirnov admitted in December to fabricating claims of a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving Joe Biden and his son Hunter, accepting a plea deal for a six-year prison term. His statements had been used by Republican lawmakers to support their impeachment efforts against Biden, and were amplified during the 2024 campaign by Trump ally Kash Patel, now the FBI director.
Under the Trump administration, the Justice Department reversed course this month, asking the court to release Smirnov early while it reexamines the case. Judge Otis D. Wright II denied the request, stating that neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys had shown Smirnov was any less likely to flee than when he was first arrested.
“The parties present no new facts… that would alter the court’s conclusion that Smirnov is a flight risk,” the judge wrote.
Smirnov was originally arrested at the Las Vegas airport after arriving from overseas. The case stemmed from the broader federal investigation into Hunter Biden, led by former special counsel David C. Weiss.
