Federal judge dismisses perjury case against two ex-FBI agents

Two former FBI agents no longer face federal charges of lying to Congress about the Hunter Biden laptop investigation. U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui dismissed the criminal complaint against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides on Monday. The judge called the prosecution an act of "weaponization" in a ruling delivered from the bench.

The case alleged that Floris and Benavides made false statements in 2023 regarding their knowledge of and involvement in the 2019 laptop incident. The Justice Department argued the former agents misled lawmakers about the origins of the device, which Hunter Biden dropped off at a Delaware repair shop. The agents' lawyers argued the investigation was flawed from the start.

Judge Faruqui found that the probe was opened the day after President Donald Trump delivered a primetime speech in July rehashing grievances over the 2020 election loss. The judge noted that FBI Director Kash Patel mandated the investigation and maintained close oversight throughout its duration. An FBI agent who worked the case testified that he was concerned the effort would be viewed as political.

The timing of the prosecution drew sharp criticism from the court. The Justice Department filed the complaint two weeks before the midterm elections, despite having the authority to bring the case at any time since the 2023 testimony. Faruqui stated that he would not pretend he could not read a calendar, highlighting the proximity to the November vote.

Procedural irregularities further undermined the case in the judge's view. The Justice Department used a criminal complaint rather than a grand jury indictment, a method typically reserved for urgent custody situations. Faruqui criticized prosecutors for filing an amended complaint overnight with an additional charge without first clearing the new count with the court.

During a preliminary hearing last week, the judge scolded prosecutors for their unorthodox maneuvers. He expressed surprise at seeing an amended complaint filed directly to the docket without prior judicial review, a practice he said he had never encountered in his tenure.

The dismissal is a setback for the Justice Department, which may still seek a grand jury indictment in Washington. However, the department has faced difficulty persuading local grand juries to return indictments in politically charged prosecutions. The case also touched on a 2020 "defensive briefing" given to lawmakers, which Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson said was used to link their inquiries to Russian disinformation.