Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui dismissed a criminal complaint on Monday against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, ending the case for now over allegations that the former FBI officials lied to Congress about the Hunter Biden investigation. The ruling leaves the Justice Department with only the possibility of trying again through a federal grand jury in Washington.
House Judiciary Committee testimony
The complaint centered on testimony Floris and Benavides gave before the House Judiciary Committee in 2023. Prosecutors alleged they lied about what they knew concerning the Hunter Biden investigation and about their roles on the Foreign Influence Task Force and in the FBI’s handling of that matter.
Faruqui found the government had failed to show probable cause that either former FBI official lied to lawmakers about what they knew about Hunter Biden’s laptop. The case had been brought by criminal complaint rather than first being presented to a federal grand jury in Washington.
Bradley Benavides attorneys
Attorneys for Bradley Benavides said the accusations against their client were political theater. They also said, “Bradley Benavides is a patriot.” “He is a public servant.” “And he is innocent.”
After the dismissal, the same attorneys said, “We are grateful that Judge Faruqui carefully weighed the woefully inadequate evidence against the law, and found the government could not meet the extremely low burden of probable cause.”
Justice Department next step
The dismissal does not end the matter as a legal mechanism. The complaint was rejected at the probable-cause stage, but the Justice Department could still try to persuade federal grand jurors to move the case forward if it chooses to seek a new filing.
Last week, an FBI agent testified at a preliminary hearing that he was concerned the investigation would be viewed as political, and said the investigation had been directed by FBI Director Kash Patel. The agent also said a prosecutor on the case acknowledged in a telephone call last week that the criminal complaint was flawed. Faruqui had already criticized the government for attempting to add charges through a new unsigned complaint on the court docket without permission from a judge.
