(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice said it is reviewing the criminal case brought against a former FBI informant convicted of peddling lies about former President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden and is moving for a judge to release the man from prison immediately while his case is on appeal.
Alexander Smirnov was sentenced to six years in prison in January after pleading guilty to lying to his FBI handler about the Biden family’s ties to a Ukrainian energy company — in addition to a series of unrelated tax fraud charges.
Smirnov’s lies were later seized on by House Republicans to bolster their efforts to impeach Joe Biden over unproven claims that he corruptly used his position as vice president in the Obama administration to benefit himself financially once out of office.
“The United States intends to review the government’s theory of the case underlying Defendant’s criminal conviction,” Assistant U.S. Attorney David Friedman said in a filing Thursday, offering no further explanation.
The case against Smirnov, brought by former special counsel David Weiss, who was previously a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney, alleged he concocted “fabrications” about Joe Biden and his son accepting $5 million in bribes from the Ukrainian energy giant Burisma. The indictment accused Smirnov of repeatedly changing his story about the alleged bribery scheme after meeting with senior members of Russia’s intelligence services, in what Weiss described as a deliberate effort to influence the 2024 presidential election.
The Thursday filing points to health problems Smirnov has reportedly faced since his incarceration. His attorneys have said he has suffered from chronic eye disease for over a year and requested he be released to receive treatment from a doctor in California.
The judge overseeing his case, however, repeatedly rejected their efforts prior to his guilty plea, arguing he posed a risk of flight from the United States based on his extensive contacts with overseas foreign intelligence services.
A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment further on the government’s filing.
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