A federal judge on Monday dismissed a criminal complaint against two former FBI officials who had been accused of making false statements to Congress regarding their knowledge of the Hunter Biden investigation.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui ruled that the government failed to establish probable cause showing that Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides lied to lawmakers about Hunter Biden’s laptop. The prosecution had proceeded via a criminal complaint rather than seeking an indictment from a federal grand jury in Washington. Legal observers note that grand juries in the district have previously demonstrated skepticism toward politically sensitive prosecutions targeting figures associated with past controversies, such as the rejected attempted indictment of Cassidy Hutchinson.
The underlying criminal complaint alleged that Floris and Benavides misled the House Judiciary Committee during 2023 testimony regarding their responsibilities on the bureau’s Foreign Influence Task Force and their involvement in investigations concerning Hunter Biden. Both former officials had previously faced intense public criticism from close allies of President Donald Trump due to their past security duties concerning the 2020 presidential election.
The dismissal followed a preliminary hearing last week during which an FBI agent testified about concerns that the inquiry—directed by FBI Director Kash Patel—could be perceived as politically motivated. The agent also acknowledged that a prosecutor on the legal team admitted during a telephone call last week that the initial criminal complaint suffered from flaws.
The prosecutor, Carlton Davis, serves as a top aide to Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Davis is a former Republican congressional staffer whose previous assignments included involvement in an unsuccessful effort to indict six sitting members of Congress over a social media video opposed by President Trump.
