Federal Judge Rejects DOJ Attempt to File Midnight Charges Against Ex-FBI Officials
A federal judge struck down an unsworn, midnight filing by the DOJ against two former FBI officials, citing procedural irregularities in the Hunter Biden probe.
POLICY WIRE — Washington, USA — A federal magistrate judge on Tuesday blocked an eleventh-hour effort by the Justice Department to introduce new criminal charges against two former FBI counterintelligence officials. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that prosecutors failed to secure the necessary judicial review before attempting to add the charges.
The court proceedings grew tense as Judge Faruqui expressed frustration over the government’s decision to upload an unsworn and unsigned superseding complaint to the public docket after midnight. The judge noted that the filing had bypassed the standard process required to establish probable cause, leading him to order the documents struck from the record.
John Borchert, a prosecutor representing the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., acknowledged that the government’s attempt to bypass judicial review in this manner was unprecedented in his experience. The docket was subsequently updated to reflect that the filings had been submitted in error.
Judge Faruqui criticized the government’s recent tactical choices, suggesting that the unusual handling of the case only served to heighten concerns regarding the Department of Justice’s motivations. He questioned why the government deviated from established historical practices, remarking that the actions made it appear as though the United States was hesitant to have a judge evaluate the evidence for probable cause.
Defense attorneys for the former officials argued that the government’s conduct was an attempt to litigate the case in the media rather than the courtroom. One attorney described the government’s request to have an agent swear to the filing after the fact as Kafkaesque, while Judge Faruqui compared the request to asking the court to act as a mere notary.
The underlying case involves testimony provided by the two officials, Floris and Benavides, to a congressional committee on July 19, 2023, and September 28, 2023, respectively. The government alleges the pair provided false statements regarding their involvement in the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force and its investigation into Hunter Biden.
Despite dismissing the new complaint, Judge Faruqui confirmed that the court will proceed with a preliminary hearing to determine if the original criminal complaint—which accused the officials of lying to Congress—meets the standard for probable cause. Defense counsel for Floris argued that the discrepancies between the original and attempted filings suggest the prosecution is driven by political motives rather than factual evidence.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
