A federal judge has dismissed the case against two former senior FBI officials accused of misleading Congress about Hunter Biden’s laptop, denouncing the prosecution as apparent “weaponization” by the Trump administration.
US Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui sharply criticized federal prosecutors during a preliminary hearing Monday over the false-statement charges filed last month against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides.
Each former FBI official faced one count of allegedly lying to Congress about their work with the bureau’s Foreign Influence Task Force, known as FITF, as well as their involvement in the FBI’s investigation into Hunter Biden, according to a statement issued at the time by US Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
The accusations were filed through criminal complaints rather than grand jury indictments, meaning prosecutors had not obtained formal indictments in either case.
During Monday’s hearing, Faruqui accused the Justice Department of pursuing a “slapdash” case that, in his view, lacked both supporting evidence and a clear motive.
The judge told DOJ attorneys that he was “deeply troubled by what has happened” in the effort to prosecute the two former FBI officials.
He said the department’s conduct “cannot be described as anything other than weaponization.”
Two former FBI officials accused of helping orchestrate a “cover-up” involving Hunter Biden’s laptop faced bombshell charges brought by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department
Hunter Biden arrives at federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2024
The E. Barrett Prettyman US Federal Courthouse in Washington, DC, where the two former FBI agents appeared for a preliminary hearing on allegations that they lied to Congress
“This does not feel like an investigation,” Faruqui told prosecutors. “It feels like a broken, one-wish willow obsession.”
Monday’s ruling was not the first occasion on which Faruqui questioned the Justice Department’s timing and motives in pursuing the former FBI officials.
The initial complaints were unsealed late last month, only 10 days before the November 3 midterm elections.
Faruqui, who previously worked as a federal prosecutor, said he was deeply concerned that the government waited to bring the case even though the alleged congressional testimony occurred in 2023.
Rather than seeking charges earlier, prosecutors filed criminal complaints in the final days before the midterms.
“I will not bury my head in the sand and pretend that I cannot read a calendar,” Faruqui said Monday before dismissing the cases.
The judge’s concerns intensified the previous week when DOJ attorneys attempted to submit a public “superseding complaint” accusing Floris and Benavides of obstruction as well.
Those additional allegations were soon dismissed, but not before Faruqui delivered another forceful rebuke to the prosecutors.
Faruqui pointed out that the new complaint had been filed before he could determine whether probable cause existed for the Justice Department’s original case against the former FBI officials.
“So, the Justice Department is now essentially creating a new way of charging people?” Faruqui asked prosecutors last week, repeatedly describing the government’s conduct as “really concerning.”
‘Everything is just a little sideshow on top of a little sideshow,’ the judge said, ‘and it’s hard to see the forest for the trees here.’
Hunter’s laptop, which was abandoned at a repair shop in Delaware and then obtained by former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, became a flashpoint in the run-up to the 2020 election, after its contents were reported by the New York Post.
He was later convicted of felony gun charges and separate tax offenses, though he was pardoned by his father shortly before leaving office.
This is a developing news story. Check back soon for updates.
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