By Midtown Times Staff
WASHINGTON (Midtown Times) — A federal magistrate judge rejected an unusual Justice Department effort to add an obstruction charge against two former FBI officials accused of misleading Congress about their knowledge of investigations involving Hunter Biden.
Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides were initially charged with making false statements to the House Judiciary Committee during interviews conducted in 2023. Prosecutors allege they minimized their awareness of, and involvement in, FBI inquiries concerning Biden and his laptop. Both defendants are presumed innocent.
Shortly after midnight Tuesday, government attorneys filed a superseding criminal complaint adding an allegation that Floris and Benavides obstructed a congressional proceeding. The document, however, was neither sworn nor signed by an investigating officer or judge.
During a hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Borchert acknowledged that the approach was unprecedented but suggested the complaint could receive the necessary signature in court.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui refused the request and ordered the amended complaint removed from the court record. He questioned why prosecutors departed from the procedures traditionally followed in criminal cases filed in the District of Columbia.
Faruqui said he did not necessarily believe the prosecutors appearing before him had acted dishonestly. Still, he expressed concern that officials at higher levels of government could be improperly influencing the process.
The rejected obstruction allegation could be presented again through the proper legal procedures. The original false-statement charges remain pending, and Faruqui is reviewing whether prosecutors have established probable cause to continue the case.
Defense attorneys argued that the government’s handling of the matter raised questions about its credibility and political motivations. Mary Dohrmann, an attorney representing Floris, said the mounting evidence suggested the prosecution had become a political dispute rather than a case driven strictly by facts and law.
The FBI agent responsible for the original affidavit also acknowledged during questioning that parts of the document were inaccurate. Among other issues, the affidavit reportedly stated that the former officials had been under oath during their congressional interviews, although Benavides had not been sworn in. The agent maintained that the inaccuracies were unintentional.
Prosecutors contend that Floris and Benavides concealed the extent of their knowledge while serving as senior members of the FBI’s former Foreign Influence Task Force. Their lawyers dispute those allegations and argue that investigators have not shown that either defendant knowingly lied or materially obstructed Congress.
The judge has not issued a final decision on whether the original case may proceed.
