Crimeupdated 50m ago2 min read
Archive photo · 31 July 2026Zia Faruqui Dismisses Criminal Complaint Against Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides
“What has transpired here cannot be described as anything other than weaponization”
“The case was brought by criminal complaint rather than being presented to a federal grand jury”
Photo: G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0 · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Judge Zia Faruqui dismissed charges against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides. Court found no probable cause they lied to Congress about Hunter Biden.
Save coverage image
Case tossed in DC
U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui dismissed a criminal complaint against former FBI officials Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides, concluding the case “cannot be described as anything other than weaponization.”
Faruqui rejected the government’s attempt to proceed by criminal complaint rather than presenting the matter to a federal grand jury in Washington, where NBC News said jurors have been skeptical of politically tinged cases.
Faruqui found the government failed to show probable cause that Floris and Benavides lied to Congress about what they knew regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop.
The complaint alleged the pair lied about their roles on the Foreign Influence Task Force and “about their roles in the FBI’s Hunter Biden investigations” during House Judiciary Committee testimony in 2023.
The Hill said the judge found no probable cause to support charges after Faruqui said, “There is no denying this investigation was rushed.”
Probable cause and politics
An FBI agent testified at a preliminary hearing that he was concerned the investigation, directed by FBI Director Kash Patel, would be viewed as “political.” Faruqui accused the Trump administration’s Justice Department of weaponizing the justice system and described the case as a “rush job” directed by President Donald Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel. The Hill said Faruqui found no probable cause after the House Judiciary Committee interviews in 2023, when prosecutors alleged Floris and Benavides made false statements about their knowledge and involvement.
A prosecutor acknowledged the criminal complaint was flawed in a telephone call last week, and the case was brought by criminal complaint rather than a grand jury indictment. Fox News added that Faruqui dismissed the complaint from the bench after sharply criticizing the government’s handling of the prosecution.
What happens next
Federal prosecutors could still try to seek an indictment from a grand jury even after Faruqui dismissed the charges. Faruqui criticized prosecutors for attempting to add another charge without first securing judicial approval, and the ruling capped a series of hearings. Faruqui found the government had failed to show probable cause that Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides had lied to Congress about Hunter Biden’s laptop.
“Federal prosecutors could still try to seek an indictment from a grand jury.”
The controversy erupted just weeks before the 2020 presidential election when the New York Post published stories based on the contents of a laptop that a Delaware repair shop owner said Biden had left there and never picked up. Fox News said Faruqui also previously apologized to the suspect accused of plotting an assassination attempt against Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, referring to suspect Cole Allen’s jail treatment in May.