New Charges Hit a Roadblock
Two former senior FBI officials, Nikki Cole Floris, 46, and Bradley Benavides, 56, were taken into custody last week and charged with making false statements to Congress about their involvement in the Hunter Biden laptop investigation. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors filed an unsigned superseding complaint charging both officials with obstructing a congressional proceeding. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui tossed out that new filing, saying prosecutors could not take that step without judicial review. The ruling put the Justice Department’s latest move on hold, but the court indicated prosecutors could try again through the proper process.
Prosecutors Challenge Their Testimony
According to the Justice Department, evidence shows Floris discussed the FBI’s investigations into Hunter Biden routinely for more than a year, both within the Foreign Influence Task Force, or FITF, and with other FBI personnel. Prosecutors also say Benavides regularly discussed the laptop with FBI officials before the 2020 election, despite his claim that he first learned about it from Wikipedia. Both officials allegedly testified that the FITF was not involved in the Hunter Biden laptop investigation. Floris is also reported to have privately boasted about “running a shadow government” during the 2020 election. Those allegations have placed their testimony and the FBI’s handling of the investigation back under intense scrutiny.
Judge Objects to Overnight Filing
Faruqui’s objection focused on the way the new complaint reached the court. The Justice Department filed it after midnight Tuesday on the public docket, but the document was both unsworn and unsigned. The judge said he had never seen an unsigned complaint filed in his court and called the practice inappropriate because it harmed the defendants. He also said the document had not been reviewed by him to determine whether probable cause existed. Faruqui described the filing as unheard of and said he was frustrated that it arrived in the middle of the night, while expressing greater concern that it had already been placed on the public record. That is not exactly a routine paperwork correction, and the court treated it as a serious procedural problem.
The DOJ Can Try Again
The judge said he would order the new charging document struck from the record. That does not end the Justice Department’s ability to seek additional charges, because Faruqui said prosecutors could attempt to file them properly. The case now includes a clear dispute over procedure: prosecutors say the former FBI officials misled Congress about the Hunter Biden laptop investigation, while the judge rejected the government’s attempt to add the new obstruction charge without the required review. For now, the unsigned and unsworn filing is out, and any next step will have to follow the court’s process.
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