The Justice Department, in an abrupt reversal, asked a federal judge late Thursday to release a former F.B.I. informant from prison pending appeal of his conviction on charges that he peddled misleading claims seized on by Trump allies to falsely accuse the Biden family of taking bribes.
A federal prosecutor in California filed the request, under orders from senior Justice Department officials in Washington, according to officials familiar with the situation. It is the latest in a series of moves to scrap or soften punishments against President Trump’s supporters, including members of the violent mob that attacked the Capitol.
The former informant, Alexander Smirnov, a shadowy fixer whose debunked claims were once promoted by the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, agreed in December to a six-year sentence. He admitted that he had fabricated a claim that President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter were each paid a $5 million bribe by a Ukrainian oligarch.
The Smirnov case was an offshoot of the federal investigation into Hunter Biden, and the plea deal was negotiated by David C. Weiss, the special counsel leading the inquiry, who stepped down in January. The prosecutors who conducted the investigation officially withdrew from the case on the day the motion was filed, court documents showed.
Under the Biden administration, the Justice Department had argued against the release of Mr. Smirnov, who was arrested at the Las Vegas airport after returning to the United States from overseas.
In May 2024, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit backed the department in rejecting Mr. Smirnov’s request to be released from pretrial custody, deeming him a flight risk with connections overseas who might help him evade capture.