On October 27, 2026, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui sharply rebuked Department of Justice prosecutors and refused to sign an overnight superseding criminal complaint against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides. The filing sought to add felony obstruction charges to existing allegations that the pair lied to Congress in 2023 regarding their handling of Hunter Biden's laptop investigation. Judge Faruqui struck the unapproved filing from the public docket, forcing prosecutors to proceed solely on the original false-statement charges.
Judge Faruqui's rulings on new charges
- ▪U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui refused to approve a superseding criminal complaint seeking to add obstruction charges against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides
- ▪Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui ordered the October 27, 2026 preliminary hearing to proceed strictly on the original false-statement allegations against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides
- ▪Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui granted a defense motion to strike the government's unapproved amended criminal complaint from the court docket
DOJ's proposed superseding complaint
- ▪Department of Justice prosecutors filed an unsigned and unsworn superseding complaint at 12:20 a.m. without securing prior judicial approval
- ▪Attorneys for Nikki Floris described the Department of Justice's overnight superseding complaint filed on October 27, 2026 as a calculated effort to bypass judicial scrutiny and delay their client's preliminary hearing
Bypassing the grand jury process
- ▪Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui stated during the October 27, 2026 hearing that the case against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides must go to a grand jury
- ▪The Department of Justice initiated criminal proceedings against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides via criminal complaint rather than obtaining a grand jury indictment
Allegations of making false statements to Congress
- ▪Prosecutors allege Nikki Floris knowingly made false statements to the House Judiciary Committee on July 19, 2023 regarding FBI investigations into Hunter Biden's laptop
- ▪Former FBI intelligence official Nikki Floris and former counterintelligence deputy assistant director Bradley Benavides were arrested for allegedly lying to Congress
- ▪Prosecutors allege Bradley Benavides knowingly made false statements to the House Judiciary Committee on September 28, 2023 regarding his knowledge of Hunter Biden laptop investigations
FBI actions regarding Hunter Biden laptop reporting
- ▪Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides approved an internal FBI project named Round River to collect derogatory informant reporting on Hunter Biden and analyze potential Russian disinformation
- ▪In October 2020, Bradley Benavides drafted talking points for the FBI director stating the bureau had not determined whether the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation
FBI Foreign Influence Task Force history
- ▪The FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, which examined potential foreign interference during the 2020 election, was disbanded in 2025 following Donald Trump's second presidential inauguration
- ▪Nikki Floris led the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force from mid-2019 through mid-2022, while Bradley Benavides served as section chief through the 2020 election
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