President Biden and his son, Hunter. (Getty Images)
U.S. District Judge Otis Wright, who is presiding over the trial, granted the request.
Smirnov's trial is now scheduled to begin Dec. 3 at 9:30 a.m.
Weiss charged Smirnov, 43, in February after he alleged Joe Biden and Hunter Biden were paid millions in exchange for their help in firing a Ukrainian prosecutor who was at the time investigating the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings. Hunter Biden sat on the board of that company when Shokin was removed from his post.
JUDGE RULES NO BAIL RELEASE FOR FBI INFORMANT ACCUSED OF LYING ABOUT BIDEN BUSINESS TIES
Prosecutors have accused Smirnov of peddling lies "that could impact U.S. elections," highlighting his alleged lies about a supposed multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving the Bidens and Burisma Holdings.
Prosecutors say Smirnov falsely told his handler that Burisma executives paid Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter $5 million each around 2015.
Smirnov pleaded not guilty to making a false statement. He is being held without bail after a judge denied his request for release.
Wright ordered that Smirnov remain in detention ahead of his trial in April, concurring with prosecutors who argued he presented a high flight risk. It is unclear whether Smirnov will remain in detention until December.
According to the indictment, Smirnov gave "false derogatory information" to the FBI despite "repeated admonishments that he must provide truthful information and that he must not fabricate evidence."
The indictment says Smirnov told an FBI agent in March 2017 that he had a phone call with Burisma’s owner concerning the firm potentially acquiring a U.S. company and making an initial public offering (IPO) on a U.S-based stock exchange.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin had been investigating Burisma, where Hunter Biden worked (Getty Images)
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley were approached by a whistleblower last summer who alleged the FBI was in possession of a document — an FD-1023 form, dated June 30, 2020 — which explicitly detailed information provided by a confidential source alleging Biden, while serving as vice president, was involved in a multimillion-dollar scheme with a foreign national in exchange for influence over policy decisions.
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The source told Fox News Digital the confidential source was used by the FBI for "at least several years," dating back to the Obama administration, before the FD-1023 form, and was "found to be highly credible" by the FBI.
House Republicans demanded the FBI turn over the document, but FBI Director Christopher Wray refused a request from Comer and Grassley last summer for the public release of the form because the bureau "claimed it would jeopardize the safety of a confidential human source who they claimed was invaluable to the FBI."
Wray was at risk of being held in contempt of Congress and eventually brought the FD-1023 form to Capitol Hill for House lawmakers to review in a secure location.
Fox News Digital first reported on the contents of the document.
An FD-1023 form is used by FBI agents to record unverified reporting from confidential human sources. The form is used to document information as told to an FBI agent, but recording that information does not validate or weigh it against other information known by the FBI.
Comer said the FBI's FD-1023 form is not being used in the impeachment inquiry against the president.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trial-ex-fbi-informant-accused-fabricating-biden-bribery-story-delayed-after-2024-election