Follow-Up: Federal Judge Dismisses Complaint Against Two Former FBI Officials in Hunter Biden Case, Finding No Probable Cause

U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui in Washington on November 2 dismissed the criminal complaint against two former FBI officials, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, finding that prosecutors had failed to establish probable cause that the pair made false statements. GSM reported on October 24 that the two had been charged over their 2023 congressional testimony concerning the Hunter Biden investigation.

The ruling was delivered orally from the bench after a two-day probable-cause hearing and lasted about an hour. Faruqui said several of the alleged statements were not false and that the others lacked evidence of intent or motive; an FBI agent who testified acknowledged finding no evidence of a motive for the two to lie to Congress. "I am deeply troubled by what has happened in this case," Faruqui said, adding that the case "cannot be described as anything other than weaponization." He noted that the investigation was opened the day after President Trump referenced Floris in a July speech and that the charges were rushed close to the midterm elections.

The Justice Department said in a statement that it disagrees with the magistrate's decision, which it said "remarkably appears to suggest that high-ranking government officials are immune from accountability for making materially false statements to Congress," and that it is evaluating all options. Because the case was brought by criminal complaint rather than a grand jury indictment, prosecutors could still seek a grand jury indictment or appeal to the court's chief judge, James Boasberg.

Floris, 46, formerly headed the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force; Benavides, 56, was a section chief in the task force. Prosecutors alleged the two minimized their knowledge of the investigation into Hunter Biden, the son of the then-president, and of a laptop he left at a computer repair shop, when they testified in a 2023 House Judiciary Committee investigation; each was charged with one count of making a false statement. Both deny wrongdoing. The complaint had been signed on October 20 by another magistrate judge, Matthew Sharbaugh. (Source: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia)

Source: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的联邦调查局总部 J. Edgar Hoover 大楼。ajay_suresh 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: FBI headquarters, the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington. Photo by ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Latest in Justice

Eunice Man Sentenced to 42 Months for Ammunition and False ID Possession: Unfinished Ghost Gun and 25 Rounds Found at His Home2026-11-04Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Distribution: Sold 3.31 Grams to an Informant, Faces Up to 20 Years2026-11-04