Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant indicted for lying about President Joe Biden’s family and their alleged dealings in Ukraine, has been re-arrested in Nevada.
Though prosecutors fought to keep him behind bars, Smirnov was released by Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts in Nevada on Tuesday with several conditions, including GPS monitoring and the surrender of his two passports.
Prosecutors asked the Nevada judge to delay his release, but the judge declined and Smirnov was allowed to walk out.
Now, Smirnov’s defense lawyers say their client was re-arrested Thursday on a new warrant for the exact same charges – this time signed by federal district Judge Otis Wright, who will oversee the criminal case out of California.
Federal judge: “Fuck you, you lowly state judge peon.”
Huh. Time to look into that Nevada judge, I think.
I don’t think there was anything wrong with their decision. Pretty normal to take away passports and put 24/7 tracking on non-violent people awaiting court. Plus the last thing you want is Biden opponents to gain more empathy for the guy or have the whole, “Joe has to be hiding something he can’t let out” rhetoric.
I’m sure the Federal Judge has more sound reasoning, but the state judge didn’t rule anything unusual.
The dude who admitted to being in contact with Russian spies? This is like the first person you keep behind bars. Not because he’s violent, but because he can easily disappear (whether he wants to or not).
Yea, I was in the court room when a guys bail/release hearing was and the judge let the guy go since he forfeited his passport and submitted to an ankle bracelet.
Even though the guy tried to flee when the FBI went to arrest him and he was on his way to Mexico. The FBI arrested him while he was getting gas and when he saw them he drove his truck over a curb to get away. The guys lawyer argued that he thought he was being car jacked and didn’t know it was the FBI. Even though they were all wearing their FBI jackets.
That guy still was released pending his trial.
He probably didn’t have the FSB looking for him though, but it still sounds a bit crazy to let that guy I out on bail.
Now, Smirnov’s defense lawyers say their client was re-arrested Thursday on a new warrant for the exact same charges
They can do that? Arrest you for charges, have bail posted, then arrest you again for the same thing? Do you get all your bail back?
It’s a weird kind of thing because if he had bailed out on his charges then he would be waiting for court proceedings and couldn’t be touched but he didn’t bail out he was released, so the trial had concluded and he had been serving his sentence and was then released conditionally by this magistrate judge only to be picked up again? Technically the warrant itself does fly but I don’t see how the charges stick when he has already been tried for them. I assume there isnt any new evidence or new counts but perhaps I’m wrong. Sometimes people can be reprosecuted if it’s determined that the original trial was somehow faulty but usually not so quickly as they have to gather a case for retrial together. So basically this is really weird.
No trial has occurred yet and no sentence levied, he was released on his own recognizance while awaiting trial.
There hasn’t been a trial or sentence yet, this is misinformation.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant indicted for lying about President Joe Biden’s family and their alleged dealings in Ukraine, has been re-arrested in Nevada.
Though prosecutors fought to keep him behind bars, Smirnov was released by Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts in Nevada on Tuesday with several conditions, including GPS monitoring and the surrender of his two passports.
Now, Smirnov’s defense lawyers say their client was re-arrested Thursday on a new warrant for the exact same charges – this time signed by federal district Judge Otis Wright, who will oversee the criminal case out of California.
“Despite Judge Albregts’s prior ruling, denial of the stay request, and Mr. Smirnov’s prior release from custody, on the morning of February 22, 2024, Mr. Smirnov was arrested for a second time – on the same charges and based on the same indictment set forth … while at the undersigned counsel’s law office for meetings with counsel,” his lawyers wrote in a court filing.
Prosecutors had already moved for a rehearing on the matter in front of the judge in California, reasserting their concerns about Smirnov’s connections to foreign intelligence officials and his access to significant amounts of cash.
He also has extensive contacts in Russia and elsewhere, prosecutors said, and lied to authorities about his “access to over $6 million in liquid funds — more than enough money for him to live comfortably overseas for the rest of his life.”
The original article contains 424 words, the summary contains 234 words. Saved 45%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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I still don’t understand who he lied to
Since he is a former FBI informant I would say he lied to the FBI
Did he hide some crime?
Unable to delete so editing instead. Leaving Lemmy.world due to privacy concerns.
Huh. Interesting. Still don’t understand what happened, but whatever.
What’s hard to understand? He made false statements to the FBI, giving fake info that his Russian handlers used to hurt Biden. He made those false statements under oath, which is known as perjury, a crime.
Then I think it should have been lying in court instead of lying about Bidens. Who cares about who he lied if he lied in court?
Because this particular lie is the entire basis for the House impeachment inquiry, which is why this is newsworthy in the first place. People get charged with perjury all the time so that’s not news on it’s own.
Liar
