Case dismissed against 2 ex-FBI officials in Hunter Biden probe

A federal magistrate judge on Monday dismissed the entire case against two former FBI officials who were accused of lying to Congress about their involvement in the investigation into Hunter Biden's laptop.

In a scathing, hour-long oral decision, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said that he found the complaint against the pair lacked probable cause and accused the Justice Department of pursuing a weaponized, political case. Faruqui, who sits on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said the case brought by the government "erodes public confidence in the Department of Justice."

The criminal complaint accused the former FBI officials, Nicole Floris and Bradley Benavides, of falsely suggesting to the House Judiciary Committee that they weren't aware of the government's investigations surrounding Hunter Biden.

Faruqui had already expressed shock and anger at the Justice Department for its actions in the case. The department initially filed an unsworn and unsigned superseding complaint against Benavides and Floris after midnight on the public court docket. Faruqui noted that he had not reviewed the complaint to establish whether there was probable cause a crime had been committed.

Outside the courtroom, Floris and Benavides, who were each charged with one count of lying to Congress, embraced and cried. Former FBI leaders, including former Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll, was with them. 

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Jacob Rosen contributed to this report.

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• FBI
• Hunter Biden

2 former FBI officials charged for allegedly lying to Congress about Hunter Biden laptop probe