Alexander Smirnov, the federal informant who was charged with lying to the FBI, might be linked to the Crossfire Hurricane probe of Donald Trump's alleged ties with Russia, the Daily Mail reported.
Smirnov was charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden's family.
U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II in Los Angeles ordered Smirnov's detention after prosecutors raised concerns that the man who claims to have ties to Russian intelligence could flee the country, The Associated Press reported.
Smirnov pleaded not guilty.
According to the Daily Mail, intelligence analysts noted a similarity between Smirnov and an unnamed FBI source cited in a government report on the controversial past Trump probe.
The similarities raised the prospect that Smirnov may have been a source for the investigation of potential corruption by the Biden family, and also a counterintelligence probe linked to Trump — making it potentially more embarrassing for the FBI, the Daily Mail said.
Former Oversight Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz told the news outlet that Congress and the Justice Department Inspector General should investigate Smirnov's potential links to Crossfire Hurricane.
"The timing of all this is highly suspicious," Chaffetz said. "For years the Department of Justice doesn't do anything, then all of a sudden they arrest him. It begs the question, what other cases did he weigh in on?"
Smirnov provided intelligence to his handler in March 2017 about allegedly corrupt Ukraine gas company Burisma, and mentioned Hunter Biden's spot on the firm's board, the Daily Mail said.
A Department of Justice inspector general's report about Crossfire Hurricane also describes a March 2017 interview with a longtime FBI informant, discussing issues related to Ukraine and foreign influence campaigns.
The informant is not named in the report, and the Daily Mail could not confirm if it is Smirnov.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.