DOJ Case Against Ex-FBI Officials Dropped Days Before Midterms
A magistrate judge dismissed charges against Bradley Benavides and Nikki Floris, citing procedural errors and political timing.
By Julian Schulz ·
U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui dismissed the Justice Department’s criminal case against former FBI officials Bradley Benavides and Nikki Floris on Monday. The decision halts a prosecution that had charged the pair with lying to Congress regarding their knowledge of investigations into former President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Faruqui described the government’s handling of the matter as rushed and riddled with errors, calling the action "weaponization." The dismissal comes on the eve of the midterm elections, a timing the judge noted was central to his ruling.
The legal timeline for the case began in mid-July. On the day after President Donald Trump delivered a primetime address urging the FBI to investigate the 2020 election, FBI Director Kash Patel ordered an investigation into Floris and Benavides. The alleged false statements in question were made to Congress in 2023. The Justice Department waited approximately three years before pursuing the matter. Prosecutors filed the charges roughly two weeks before the current midterm election cycle. A department policy prohibits timing actions to influence an election, a rule Faruqui highlighted during the hearing.
Faruqui criticized the procedural choices made by prosecutors. The charges were filed as a criminal complaint rather than through a grand jury. Criminal complaints are typically reserved for urgent situations involving imminent danger, statute of limitations deadlines, or flight risks. None of those conditions applied here. The judge stated that the only looming event was the midterms. He said, "I will not bury my head in the sand and pretend I cannot read a calendar. I will not lobotomize myself that way." He also observed that prosecutors seemed reluctant to take the case to a grand jury, likely due to the department’s recent history of grand juries in Washington, D.C., refusing to return indictments in high-profile political cases.
The Justice Department responded to the dismissal in a statement. A spokesperson said the department disagreed with the Magistrate’s decision. The statement argued that the ruling implied high-ranking officials are immune from accountability for making materially false statements to Congress. The spokesperson added that the department is evaluating all options and that its actions are guided by facts, evidence, and law, not politics.
During the one-hour hearing, Faruqui laid out the basis for his decision in a packed courtroom. Many former senior FBI officials were present. The judge noted that the preliminary hearing last week featured testimony from an FBI agent who investigated the case. Faruqui said the investigation was opened on Patel’s orders immediately after Trump’s speech. The judge concluded that nothing stops prosecutors from going to a grand jury to secure an indictment or appealing the decision to the district’s chief judge.
Outside the courtroom after the hearing, Floris and Benavides were greeted by a group of former FBI colleagues. Floris, who was in tears, hugged several former colleagues before sharing an embrace with Benavides. Margaret Donovan, one of Floris’ attorneys, addressed the media. She stated, "This case should never have been brought. The government had no case." Donovan described the complaint as a slap-dash effort driven by conspiracy theories. She concluded by noting that facts and truth prevailed in the courtroom.
