Judge Rebukes DOJ Over Complaint Against Two Ex-FBI Officials in Hunter Biden Laptop Case

A federal magistrate judge in Washington on Tuesday sharply criticized Justice Department prosecutors at a probable cause hearing for two former FBI officials charged with lying to Congress about the Hunter Biden laptop. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui refused to approve a superseding complaint that would have added an obstruction charge against Nikki Floris, a former intelligence analyst who ran the intelligence division at the Washington field office, and Bradley Benavides, a former deputy assistant director for counterintelligence. Faruqui said a judge must first find probable cause before such a complaint is filed. He said prosecutors sent it in the middle of the night and expected a signature, which he said broke precedent. Floris and Benavides surrendered on arrest warrants last week. They are charged with making false statements to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023, which carries up to five years in prison. Both had served on the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force. The Justice Department did not obtain a grand jury indictment and on Monday night submitted an unsworn affidavit. Floris was seen crying in a courthouse hallway during a break.

The New Republic, on the left, leads with the judge's rebuke and says in its headline that he trashed the DOJ. It quotes Faruqui asking why the government changed how it charges cases, and stresses the midnight filing, the unsworn affidavit and the missing indictment. Townhall, on the right, leads with Floris weeping, relaying a New York Post report, and adds scornful commentary and a claim that the laptop showed a Biden family cash-for-access scheme. Its opening stresses the charges, the five-year exposure and the Foreign Influence Task Force roles, and does not mention the judge's criticism. Both sides agree on the hearing, the defendants, the allegations and last week's surrender. AP, in the alternative group, matches the left's focus on the judge scolding prosecutors.