Justice · FBI prosecution dismissedWashington DC DOJ case: Ex-FBI officials' charges dismissed for lack of probable causeWritten November 4, 2026 at 12:53 AM UTCWatchTranscript0:07A judge dismissed criminal charges against two former FBI officials accused of lying0:12to Congress.0:13The prosecution failed even at the preliminary evidence test, and the judge called0:18its handling weaponization.0:19The Justice Department is keeping its investigation open.0:23Whether prosecutors can overcome the evidence gaps and bring the case back is0:27unresolved.0:28Nikki Flores and Bradley Benavides each faced one count of lying to Congress.0:33U.S.0:34Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqi dismissed the original complaint against both on Monday,0:39November second, finding no probable cause that either committed the charged0:44offense.0:44The ruling followed three days of evidentiary testimony in federal court in0:48Washington.0:50Prosecutors couldn't clear probable cause, a much lower threshold than the proof0:55beyond a reasonable doubt needed for conviction.0:57Faruqi delivered his decision over about an hour.1:01He said this was the first time on the bench he'd found the government had failed1:05that preliminary test.1:07His criticism reached from the evidence itself to the investigation's leadership and1:12election timing.1:13Faruqi examined three requirements.1:16Prosecutors needed evidence of false statements, knowing and willful conduct, and1:22materiality, meaning relevance to the congressional inquiry.1:25He found they hadn't met the probable cause threshold for any of them.1:29He said there was simply nothing showing either official intended to lie.1:34He contrasted the complaint with false statement prosecutions involving Michael1:38Flynn and Louis Scuder Libby, where the offense requirements had been met.1:43In this case, the lack of motive and direct evidence featured prominently in his1:48reasoning.1:48Without motive, without direct evidence, I have nothing, Faruqi said.1:54It's not close.1:55It's nothing.1:57Those words followed testimony, exposing how little investigators had done to test2:02whether the statements mattered to Congress.2:04FBI's special agent Brian Witt testified.2:07That the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee wouldn't let investigators2:12interview staff members present for the testimony.2:15The only person he was ultimately permitted to interview was Steve Castor, general2:20counsel for the committee's Republicans.2:22Castor acknowledged he hadn't witnessed Benavidi's testimony or reviewed its2:27transcript.2:28Vitt also interviewed nobody representing the committee's Democrats.2:32Prosecutors needed to connect the alleged falsehoods to the congressional inquiry,2:37and those interviews left that work unfinished.2:40Career prosecutors spotted the problem before charges were filed.2:45A recorded conversation disclosed to the defense captured Carlton Davis,2:50acknowledging the mistake.2:51Davis was a political appointee, serving as special counsel to Washington's U.S.2:56attorney.2:56Janine Pierre Fruke quoted Davis, saying, I have one issue that I'm getting hammered3:01on over here.3:03The judge questioned why prosecutors hadn't tested the case internally.3:06Instead, he said, They worked through its problems in open court for the whole world3:12to watch.3:12Witt himself made misstatements while testifying.3:16Faruqi said he didn't believe Witt intended to lie, so he regarded those errors as3:21mistakes.3:22Intent was also central to the charges against Flores, and Benavides, Flores and3:28Denavides appeared voluntarily before the House Judiciary Committee in July and3:32September2023 3.3:34Prosecutors alleged they misled lawmakers about their involvement in and knowledge3:40of FBI investigations concerning Hunter Biden, including information associated with3:45his laptop.3:46One focus was Round River, a counterintelligence operation run by the FBI's foreign3:52influence task force.3:54Prosecutors alleged it collected derogatory informant information about Hunter Biden3:59and others to flag that information as Russian disinformation.4:03Flores served as the task force's deputy assistant director.4:07From mid-2019 through mid-2022 , Benavides was its section chief.4:12From mid-2019 , through the2020 election, both had also held senior intelligence4:18or counterintelligence positions elsewhere in the Bureau.4:22Flores had been a top intelligence analyst at the Washington Field office.4:26Benavides had been a deputy assistant director in the Counter-Intelligence Division.4:32In August2020 , they gave defensive briefings to Senators Charles Grassley and Ron4:38Johnson.4:38Those briefings helped lead to the later congressional testimony.4:42The charging affidavit was filed October20,2026 , about three years4:48after the testimony.4:49Charges arrived about two weeks before the November third midterm elections.4:53Faruki questioned why prosecutors needed to act urgently after waiting that long.4:59He found no looming filing deadline, flight risk or danger requiring immediate5:04charges.5:05He questioned using a criminal complaint.5:07Before presenting the evidence to a grand jury, complaints can lawfully begin5:12criminal cases, but he saw no urgent need for that approach here.5:16Prosecutors also tried adding obstruction of Congress allegations after midnight,5:21before the October27 th hearing.5:23Faruqi struck that unsigned, unsworn replacement complaint because it lacked proper5:29judicial review.5:30He then allowed the hearing on the original complaint to continue.5:34He called the attempted expansion improper and unheard of.5:38He also identified numerous errors and differences between the charging documents.5:43It's clear to me the rushed investigation had a goal, he said.5:46It was a rush to charge, and that is a problem.5:49Witt testified that FBI Director Cash Patel ordered the inquiry opened.5:55That happened the day after President Donald Trump's televised address in mid-July,6:00when Trump repeated false claims about the twenty twenty election and urged6:04investigative action.6:06Trump accused intelligence officials.6:08Of concealing Chinese interference, Patel and senior F.I.6:12officials, including the Bureau's deputy directors, checked the inquiry's progress.6:17Witt acknowledged worrying that the case could appear political.6:21He said colleagues in his Kansas City field office feared it was a witch hunt.6:26Faruqi called the prosecution weaponization.6:29He pointed directly to the election calendar, saying, There was simply no other6:33event on the calendar, except for the midterm elections.6:37He also challenged the government's apparent reluctance to seek grand jury scrutiny.6:42He quoted the Justice Department manual's prohibition on investigative or6:47prosecutorial action intended to influence an election.6:50His criticism also invoked the department's long-standing practice of restraint in6:56politically sensitive cases during the sixty days before voting.7:00I will not bury my head in the sand and pretend I cannot read a calendar.7:05Faruqi said, The department's election period practice.7:09Allows case-specific decisions, while its manual forbids acting, with the purpose of7:15effecting an election.7:16Faruqi also faulted Patel, Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Pierrot for public7:22statements maligning the defendants, despite the evidence problems.7:26He warned that the prosecution could damage confidence in the Justice Department and7:30discourage qualified people from joining the FBI.7:33He predicted another consequence for Congress.7:36Witnesses could become less willing to testify voluntarily and more likely to invoke7:41the Fifth Amendment, protecting themselves against self-incrimination.7:45He expressed sympathy for the defendants and for career prosecutors and agents drawn7:50into the case.7:51Flores cried and embraced former colleagues outside the courtroom before hugging7:55Benavides.7:57Former senior FBI and Justice Department officials attended in support, including8:02former acting FBI director Brian Driscoll and former Washington Field Office Chief8:08Steve Jensen.8:09Margaret Donovan.8:10One of Flores's attorneys said, This case should never have been brought.8:15The government had no case.8:17She called the complaint slapdash and said facts and truth still matter in a8:22courtroom.8:23The Justice Department disagreed, saying the ruling appeared to suggest senior8:27officials were immune from accountability for materially false statements.8:32Faruqi's finding concerned the evidence supporting these charges.8:36The department said its actions would follow facts, evidence and law, rather than8:41politics.8:42Prosecutors can still seek a grand jury indictment or appeal to the district's chief8:47judge.8:48The dismissal came before trial, and those routes remain open.8:52The department hasn't announced which, if any, it will pursue.8:56The original complaint against Flores and Benavides is gone.9:00To revive the prosecution, the department would have to confront the evidence9:04failures exposed at the hearing.9:06It says it's evaluating all options and continues to describe the investigation as9:11ongoing.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
