By Ryan J. Reilly, Tom Winter and Sarah Fitzpatrick -
NBC News
Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant accused of lying to the agency about the president, Joe Biden, and his son Hunter Biden in statements that were at the "heart" of the investigation for an impeachment trial against the president carried out by Republicans of the House of Representatives, has been detained again by federal authorities, his lawyers indicated this Thursday.
Smirnov made his first appearance in federal court in Las Vegas, but his case will be tried in California.
A Nevada trial judge had ordered Smirnov's release under conditions that included
GPS tracking of him
after his initial appearance on Tuesday.
Prosecutors later asked a federal judge in California to detain him.
The president, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden.Getty Images
The officials said Smirnov admitted that some of the information about Hunter Biden, the president's son, came from "officials associated with Russian intelligence," and that Smirnov had claimed to have met with Russian intelligence agents just a few months ago.
They indicated that Smirnov "is
actively peddling new lies
that could affect the US election, after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November."
A copy of a new arrest warrant shows it was issued by a judge in California on Thursday.
Smirnov's lawyers wrote that he was "arrested a second time" on the same charges this Thursday morning, while he was at his "lawyers' office for meetings."
They said the fact that Smirnov met with his lawyers when he was rearrested "contradicts the idea that he is a flight risk."
"Mr. Smirnov was arrested again by virtue of an
arrest warrant issued by the same court
where he planned to appear voluntarily when required," they said in a statement.
The office of special counsel David Weiss, who accused Smirnov, did not respond to a request for comment from NBC News.