Judge drops FBI lie charges

One federal judge described a criminal complaint against two former FBI officials as a "weaponization" of the Justice Department. The dismissal occurred on Monday, just before the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the final two years of the current administration.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui read an hourlong ruling from the bench in Washington. He dropped the charges against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides. The two men led the FBI Foreign Influence Task Force until that unit was disbanded last year. Faruqui stated that the investigation was rushed and conducted at the request of President Donald Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel.

"I am deeply troubled by what has happened here in this case," Faruqui said. He added that the events could not be described as anything other than weaponization. The judge noted that the department could have sought an indictment at any time. Instead, it filed a criminal complaint in the immediate run-up to voting on Tuesday.

Prosecutors accused Floris and Benavides of lying to Congress in 2023. They allegedly downplayed their knowledge of investigations into Hunter Biden and a laptop dropped off at a Delaware computer repair shop in 2019. Faruqui said the government failed to prove that the statements were intentionally false. The judge also found no evidence that the officials had a motive to deceive.

"Without motive, without direct evidence, I have nothing" to go on, Faruqui said. He determined that the complaint did not establish probable cause. The ruling does not permanently end the matter. The Justice Department can still pursue an indictment through a grand jury.

During a three-day hearing last week, FBI agent Bryan Witt testified about the case. Witt said the inquiry was opened one day after Trump gave a primetime speech on election security. He described the investigation as a "witch hunt" and a "huge distraction" from his regular work in Kansas City, Missouri. Witt also stated that Patel demanded constant updates, which he called unusual.

Faruqi cited several "critical mistakes" in the complaint. One error involved the claim that the officials provided sworn testimony. In reality, they were not under oath when they appeared before the House Judiciary Committee. The judge also criticized the department for filing an amended complaint overnight without clearing it with the court first.

The case centers on a laptop Hunter Biden left at a Wilmington, Delaware, shop in 2019. Its existence became public in October 2020 via a New York Post story. At the time, Democrats and former intelligence officials suggested a link to Russian disinformation. Then-intelligence director John Ratcliffe said there were no signs of foreign involvement.

Prosecutors argued the former officials might have wanted to distance themselves from the FITF's failure to correct that narrative. They also suggested the team wanted to appear separate from President Joe Biden while he was in office. Defense lawyers rejected this view, calling the prosecution a politically motivated smear campaign.

Floris hugged supporters outside the courtroom after the ruling. Her attorneys said the charges should never have been brought under the department's "clearly discredited authority." The judge's decision stands as a rebuke of the prosecution's timing and method. The Justice Department has struggled to get grand juries to return indictments in similar politically charged cases recently.