Judge dismisses DOJ case against ex-FBI officials

Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui dismissed the Department of Justice's criminal case against two former FBI officials on Monday, citing a lack of probable cause. The judge presided over the hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington, where he criticized the prosecution of Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides. He stated that the government failed to prove the agents lied to Congress about investigations into Hunter Biden.

Faruqui described the DOJ's handling of the matter as a "slapdash job" and said he was "deeply troubled by what has happened here." He argued that prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence that the officials' 2023 testimony before the House Judiciary Committee was knowingly false. The judge also accused the agency of improperly accelerating the timeline to finish the case before the midterm election.

The ruling included a sharp rebuke of the government's strategy. Faruqui told the government's lawyers that their situation "cannot be described as anything other than weaponization." He apologized to the defense attorneys, calling it "incredibly unfair" that they were assigned to defend what he viewed as a flawed case. He further noted, "This does not feel like an investigation. It feels like a broken one-wish willow obsession."

The DOJ responded to the dismissal by saying it "disagrees" with the decision. In a statement to CNBC, the agency said it is evaluating all options while guiding its actions based on facts, evidence, and law rather than politics. The department declined to comment further on the ongoing criminal investigation.

Attorneys for the two former officials reacted positively outside the courthouse later Monday morning. A lawyer for Floris said the case should never have been brought, labeling the prosecution a "spaghetti-at-the-wall, Hunter-Biden-conspiracy fever dream." A lawyer for Benavides expressed hope that the DOJ would not seek a grand jury indictment, which would allow prosecutors to shape the narrative behind closed doors.

The dismissal follows a procedural dispute over how the charges were filed. The DOJ initially used a criminal complaint on Oct. 23, a method typically reserved for situations requiring quick arrest warrants. Faruqi had flagged this choice as unusual given the age of the alleged misconduct. Last Tuesday, he refused to sign a superseding complaint that added an obstruction charge, questioning why the DOJ changed its charging history for this specific case.

The judge told prosecutors last week, "I'm concerned with your view as to what the law is." He asked them to explain why they altered their standard procedure on this one occasion. The dismissal leaves the two former FBI officials free of the specific charges filed in the initial complaint.