Judge rejects DOJ’s late effort to add charges against ex-FBI officials

Faruqui sharply criticized prosecutors for placing a revised complaint on the public docket overnight without first obtaining judicial approval. He said the filing was inappropriate and ordered it struck from the record; prosecutors can still seek to add charges through the proper process, and the judge proceeded with a hearing on the original complaint to assess probable cause.

The new filing accused Floris and Benavides of obstructing a congressional proceeding by allegedly making false statements that let them avoid questions about their knowledge of Hunter Biden’s laptop and hindered a House investigation. The original case accuses them of lying to Congress in 2023 about what they knew of the laptop and their involvement in FBI discussions. Both have denied wrongdoing.

The officials were leaders of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force. They gave briefings to Republican senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson during August 2020, when the senators were investigating Hunter Biden’s work in Ukraine. The task force, established during President Donald Trump’s first administration, was disbanded in February 2025.

Floris’ lawyers said the overnight filing was an unprecedented attempt to repair the original case and called the added charge meritless. They also argued that changes in the revised complaint—including softer descriptions of the officials’ involvement—raised questions about the case’s factual basis. The Justice Department could pursue a felony indictment, while the preliminary hearing on the original allegations continued.