Judge scolds DOJ over case against ex-FBI officials accused of false statements about Hunter Biden's laptop

Key Points:

• A federal judge criticized the Justice Department for filing an amended criminal complaint overnight against two former FBI officials, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, adding an obstruction charge without proper judicial sign-off, which is against court practices.
• The officials are accused of making false statements to Congress about their knowledge of Hunter Biden's laptop, which the Justice Department says was abandoned at a repair shop in 2019, and of impeding a House investigation into the Bidens.
• Defense lawyers challenged the complaint's validity, highlighting that it was signed by a magistrate judge rather than indicted by a grand jury, a process the Justice Department has struggled with in high-profile D.C. cases.
• The case is politically charged, connected to controversies from the 2020 election involving the Hunter Biden laptop, foreign influence concerns, and criticism of the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, which Floris and Benavides led before it was disbanded in 2025.
• The Justice Department's handling of the case, including the late-night filing of the amended complaint, drew sharp criticism from the defense, who called the move unprecedented and meritless.