FBI Deputy Director for Counterterrorism Nikki Floris testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing at the Capitol on October 22, 2019 in Washington.
Susan Walsh | AP
A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit accusing two former FBI officials of lying to Congress about the Hunter Biden investigation, accusing the Justice Department of “use of arms,” multiple news outlets reported.
At a hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington, Judge Zia Faruqui reportedly slammed the Justice Department for its “slapstick job” in prosecuting former employees Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavidez, saying she was “deeply troubled by what happened here.”
MS NOW reported that Faruqui said the government lacked good cause and failed to present evidence that the officials’ statements before the House Judiciary Committee in 2023 were intentionally false.
He also accused the Justice Department of unfairly rushing the case ahead of the midterm elections. The situation “is nothing short of weaponization,” he said, according to MS NOW.
The judge also apologized to government lawyers, saying it was “incredibly unfair” for them to be tasked with defending a flawed case.
“I don’t think this is an investigation,” Faruqui reportedly added. “I feel like Willow’s obsession with a broken unrequited love.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Lawyers for Mr. Floris and Mr. Benavidez praised the judge’s ruling outside the courthouse late Monday morning.
“This case should never have been filed. As the judge just said, the government had no case,” Floris’ attorney said, slamming prosecutors as “spaghetti against the wall, a Hunter-Biden conspiracy fever dream.”
Benavidez’s attorneys said they hope the Justice Department does not try to keep the case alive by seeking a grand jury indictment.
The Justice Department took no such action when it disclosed allegations against Mr. Floris and Mr. Benavidez on October 23.
Rather, prosecutors obtained a criminal complaint, which only required a judge’s signature, despite the misconduct occurring years ago. Criminal charges are often used to obtain arrest warrants in situations where prosecutors need to act quickly.
Faruqui warned that the situation was unusual and last week refused to sign a superseding indictment that added obstruction charges against two former officials.
“I have concerns about your view of what the law is,” the judge told prosecutors during a hearing last Tuesday. “Why today, on this one case, have we changed the entire history of how litigation is billed?”
