Judge Strikes DOJ's New Charge Against Ex-FBI Officials in Hunter Biden Probe
The Facts
- U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui on Tuesday struck an amended criminal complaint that the Justice Department filed overnight to add an obstruction charge against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides for their role in the Hunter Biden investigations.
- Faruqui called the filing of an unsigned complaint on the public docket without judicial approval "inappropriate" and said he was unaware of it ever happening in his court. Prosecutor John Borchert acknowledged he had never previously added charges that way.
- FBI Special Agent Bryan Witt testified Tuesday that Director Kash Patel assigned the investigation a day after Trump's July speech on election interference, adding that while he had concerns it would be perceived as political, he objected to the defense framing it as a "witch hunt."
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The Spin
Democratic narrative
Prosecuting former FBI officials days before an election, in a case ordered from the top and pursued with filings a judge calls unheard of in his career, looks like retribution against a bureau that once investigated Trump’s circle. Norms against political timing exist to prevent this, and courts are increasingly the only check on a Justice Department that treats loyalty as policy.
Republican narrative
Lying to Congress is a crime whoever commits it, and FBI officials who ran election-year work that tagged Hunter Biden reporting as Russian disinformation are charged with misleading the committee that asked. A sloppy filing does not change whether an agency that shaped the 2020 campaign ever faces consequences. Congress can oversee only those who tell it the truth.