A judge ordered on Monday that Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant, remain in custody until his trial, a decision that comes after Smirnov was charged this month by the Department of Justice with lying to federal investigators about President Joe Biden.
Judge Otis Wright of the Central District of California issued the order during a hearing in Los Angeles in response to special counsel David Weiss, who is overseeing Smirnov’s prosecution, arguing that Smirnov is a flight risk.
Wright apparently agreed with Weiss, saying during the hearing that “there is nothing garden variety about this case,” according to one of the reporters inside the courtroom.
The judge’s order to keep Smirnov behind bars follows authorities arresting Smirnov a second time last week in Las Vegas. A judge there who was temporarily overseeing Smirnov’s first arrest, which occurred on Feb. 14, had ordered Smirnov be released with conditions, including a requirement that he wear an ankle bracelet.
Weiss appealed the decision in California, which is where Smirnov’s criminal charges were originally filed. Wright, the judge in California, has final authority over Smirnov’s case and ordered his rearrest last week after the Nevada judge released him.
Smirnov’s attorneys pleaded with Wright for their client’s release, arguing in a court filing ahead of his hearing on Monday that Smirnov could adhere to several stipulations that would prevent him from fleeing the country.
They said placing their client on house arrest, limiting his access to his own finances, and putting restrictions on his passport would address concerns prosecutors have about Smirnov absconding.
Weiss, for his part, has argued that Smirnov, an Israeli American, is a flight risk because he has no immediate family in the United States, access to millions of dollars, and “extensive and extremely recent” contact with Russian intelligence officials.
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“Smirnov’s efforts to spread misinformation about a candidate of one of the two major parties in the United States continues,” Weiss warned.
Smirnov’s attorneys indicated in a statement last week that they will continue to attempt to advocate their client’s release through the appeals process.
