Judge dismisses charges against former FBI officials in Hunter Biden probe

A federal judge on Monday dismissed a criminal case against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, who were accused of making false statements to Congress. UPI and PBS NewsHour reported that U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui ruled there was no probable cause for the charges, calling the prosecution weaponization of the Justice Department. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Floris and Benavides were charged after being interviewed about investigations into Hunter Biden. [1][3][17]

PBS NewsHour and MSNBC both reported that Judge Faruqui criticized the investigation as rushed, overtly political, and dogged by critical mistakes. MSNBC reported that Donald Trump's Justice Department suffered a defeat with the ruling, which came after the judge spoke from the bench for nearly an hour. CNBC reported that Faruqui suggested the prosecution was rushed to come out ahead of the midterm election. [3][4][6]

UPI reported that Floris and Benavides had each faced one count of making a false statement to Congress. The charges stemmed from interviews conducted in 2023 by the House Judiciary Committee concerning the bureau's Hunter Biden investigation. Hunter Biden is the second son of former president Joe Biden, according to Wikipedia. [1][4][12]

According to PBS NewsHour, the Justice Department may still have an opportunity to pursue a grand jury indictment against the former FBI officials. [3]