Judge rejects unsigned charges filed against former FBI officials

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 27 Oct, 21:08 · Archive

A federal judge has dismissed new obstruction charges the Justice Department filed against two former FBI agents.

Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui dismissed new obstruction charges filed by the Department of Justice against former FBI officials Nikki Flores and Bradley Benavides on Tuesday. The two were previously arrested after being accused of making false statements to Congress about their involvement in investigations concerning Hunter Biden. The DOJ filed a superseding complaint seeking to add felony obstruction allegations in the early hours of Tuesday morning, just hours before prosecutors were scheduled to defend their original allegations at a preliminary hearing.

Faruqui strongly rebuked the prosecutors for the timing and manner of the filing. The judge said the unsigned and unsworn complaint should never have been filed on the public record without first securing judicial approval to establish probable cause. 'I think that it is inappropriate and harms the defendant,' Faruqui said. 'I'm frustrated that I got it in the middle of the night, but I'm much more concerned that it's filed on the public record.' The judge noted that such unsigned complaints had never previously been filed in his experience.

The charges against Flores and Benavides relate to their alleged misrepresentation of their involvement in investigations into the Biden family during the 2020 election cycle. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro had announced the original charges, stating that lying to Congress 'strikes at the heart of our democratic system'.

How it is being reported

• Judge tosses unsigned charges filed in cases against ex-FBI agents in Hunter Biden probeA federal judge on Tuesday tossed new obstruction charges the Justice Department filed against former FBI agents accused of lying to Congress.UPI · 27 Oct, 20:57
• Judge who apologized to accused would-be Trump assassin lights up DOJ in Hunter Biden FBI caseMagistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui tossed DOJ obstruction charges against two ex-FBI officials after prosecutors filed unsigned complaints at midnight.Fox News · 27 Oct, 20:43

In this story: Zia M. Faruqui · Nikki Flores · Bradley Benavides · Hunter Biden · Joe Biden · Jeanine Pirro · Department of Justice · U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log