Judge Tosses Complaint Against Ex-FBI Officials

A federal magistrate judge, Zia Faruqui, dismissed the case against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, who were accused of lying to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023 about the bureau's Hunter Biden probes. The NY Post reports prosecutors filed a fresh complaint after midnight and the judge tossed it before the session even got going. Fox News reports he called the whole thing a rush job directed by President Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel.

That's one judge's read, and nobody has said whether prosecutors will appeal or refile. But a complaint filed after midnight is a fence repair done by flashlight: you can't blame the judge for noticing the posts are crooked. If this is the plan, I'd hate to see the panic. The NY Post says the government needed just one surviving alleged lie per defendant, and after a two-day hearing it apparently couldn't hang onto one.

A magistrate judge's ruling is not the last word, and these two folks were only accused. The NY Post and Fox News have the full rundown.

“cannot be described as anything other than weaponization”Judge Zia Faruqui, via NY Post