by WorldTribune Staff, May 3, 2024
A former FBI informant who says he has proof that Ukrainian energy firm Bursima paid Joe Biden and Hunter Biden $5 million each in bribes was denied release from jail on Wednesday.
Media tried but failed to get a shot of Alexander Smirnov’s face after he was released from custody in February. He was soon re-arrested and remains jailed.Alexander Smirnov, a paid FBI source who had been frequently used since the Obama Administration and was deemed to be “highly credible,” has remained behind bars since his arrest in February for allegedly lying to the FBI.
Related: Russiagate redux? DOJ does not want formerly trusted FBI informant walking the streets, February 22, 2024
Smirnov‘s lawyers had urged the California-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court judge’s order that Smirnov remain jailed while he awaits trial.
A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit said the lower court was right to conclude Smirnov is a flight risk and there are no conditions of release that would reasonably assure he shows up in court.
U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II in Los Angeles in February ordered Smirnov to remain jailed while he awaits trial, reversing a different judge’s ruling releasing him on GPS monitoring. Smirnov was re-arrested at his lawyers’ office in Las Vegas two days after the magistrate judge released him from custody.
Smirnov‘s lawyers vowed Wednesday to further fight for their client’s release. They can ask the full 9th Circuit to review the ruling or go directly to the Supreme Court.
Smirnov‘s lawyers have noted that their client has no criminal history and argued that keeping him locked up will make it difficult for him to help his legal team prepare for trial. His lawyers said they believe “he should be free in order to effectively prepare his defense.”
“Our client was out of custody and at our office working on his defense when he was rearrested and detained. He was not fleeing,” David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld said in an emailed statement.
Heavy-handed DOJ treatment of Alexander Smirnov keeps ‘Russiagate’ alive, shields Bidens added by Editor Two on May 3, 2024
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