Secret filing unfairly ordered Smirnov’s detention in Biden case, Las Vegas lawyers say

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Lawyers for Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant charged with making up stories about bribes involving President Joe Biden’s family, have filed a legal brief repeating protests that the government’s reasons for keeping Smirnov behind bars are unfair and a violation of court procedures.

Smirnov, 43, remains in federal custody after pleading not guilty to charges accusing him of falsely telling his FBI handler that executives from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma had paid President Biden and Hunter Biden $5 million each around 2015. Smirnov’s claims are central to the Republican impeachment inquiry of President Biden in Congress.

The brief filed Friday alleges the government withheld information critical to Smirnov’s ability to effectively argue for his release. Las Vegas attorney Richard A. Schonfeld argued that the government instructed the court in a sealed filing that Smirnov would remain behind bars, and never informed him.

Lawyers initially argued that the offense Smirnov is charged with isn’t an offense that precludes his pre-trial release, and legal arguments focused on that — along with arguments that Smirnov posed a flight risk. But the government had already made its decision, Schonfeld argues. And an unfair one at that.

Smirnov was arrested at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas as he came off an international flight on Feb. 14. He appeared in court for a detention hearing on Feb. 26.

The previously secret four-paragraph communication instructed the court to deliver Smirnov to courtroom 5-D for a detention hearing. “The U.S. Marshal Service is advised there is to be no deviation from the Order,” the filing concluded in bold type.

According to Friday’s brief:

“Before even learning about the February 22 sealed detention order, Mr. Smirnov argued that his case cried out for appellate intervention. Mr. Smirnov was previously found to be ‘releasable’ by two Pretrial Services officers and one Magistrate Judge: these findings were ignored by the district judge. Mr. Smirnov was rearrested a second time for the same offenses and hauled off to California without a hearing, an appearance, or the opportunity to respond in Nevada.

“But now that the February 22 ex parte detention order has come to light, those cries for fairness have only been amplified. By issuing that order (and then sealing it) before Mr. Smirnov had a chance to be heard and before the February 26 ‘detention hearing,’ the district court predetermined that – based solely on the unproven allegations in the indictment – it was going to detain Mr. Smirnov. This Court should reject the district court’s cynicism and order Mr. Smirnov released on the conditions previously imposed (by the Magistrate Judge) and proposed (by Mr. Smirnov).”

Here’s what we know about Alexander Smirnov

Restating earlier rulings and arguments, and subsequent court proceedings, Friday’s brief lays out four possible reasons the court should release Smirnov.

On March 8, Las Vegas lawyers Schonfeld and David Chesnoff filed an appeal asking the court to either release Smirnov or schedule a new detention hearing.

The lawyers contend that the secret order unjustly classifies Smirnov as a flight risk, saying, “the only effective measure to assure Smirnov makes his court appearances is detention.”

They point to his two-year residency in Las Vegas and, before that, his long-term residency in California. In court filings, lawyers said Smirnov is in a long-term relationship with “significant other” Diana Lavrenyuk. The two have lived in Las Vegas for two years after she moved from California. Smirnov has “significnt medical issues related to his eyes,” and has had seven surgeries in the past year, requiring ongoing care and daily medication.

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