Judge Faruqui Rejects DOJ's Midnight Complaint Against Two Ex-FBI Officials in the Hunter Biden Probe Case, Saying Prosecutors Skipped a Judge
Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui refused to accept an unsigned, unsworn superseding complaint against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, who are accused of misleading Congress. The hearing went ahead on the original charges.
A federal magistrate judge rebuked the Justice Department on Tuesday over how it tried to expand its case against two former FBI officials, Fox News reports.
The case. Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides were arrested last week. DOJ accuses them of misrepresenting to Congress their roles in investigations that touched Hunter Biden.
What happened. Hours before a preliminary hearing at which prosecutors had to show probable cause, DOJ filed a superseding criminal complaint that would add felony obstruction allegations. U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said it came in the middle of the night, unsigned and unsworn, without a judge's approval. "I think they should have filed nothing," he said, according to courtroom reports. He asked why the office had changed "the entire history of how you charge cases" and said it made the government look "afraid of me trying to find probable cause." Prosecutor John Borchert said it was the first time he had filed new charges without judicial review.
The ruling. Faruqui rejected the new complaint. The hearing went ahead on the original allegations that the two lied to Congress. He said any superseding complaint must go to a judge for a probable cause finding, as in every other case in the district.
The softer wording. The new filing described the two as "involved in" the Foreign Influence Task Force's work on Hunter Biden, rather than at the "center" of it, per the original complaint. Floris went from "scores of conversations" to "conversations." Her lawyers say the changes undercut the factual basis of the case.
The defense. Floris' lawyers said in a statement that in their "combined decades of DOJ service" they had never seen such a filing, and accused the government of trying to litigate in the media. They also say the timing, days before the midterms, was meant to create publicity. Fox says neither legal team nor DOJ answered its requests for comment.
Context from Fox. Faruqui has drawn conservative criticism over his DEI support, comments on ICE and pretrial detention views. He also apologized to Cole Allen, who is accused of trying to assassinate President Trump at the 2026 White House Correspondents' dinner, over the restraints used on him. Fox links the new ruling to that history in its headline.
Note for readers: the officials are accused, not convicted. Fox's piece frames the judge through his past record; the ruling itself concerns procedure, not the strength of the case.