Trump Officials Face Scrutiny Over Renewed Comey Prosecution and Court Moves
WHO:
ABC News - U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui questioned the age of the allegations against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, saying the “facts appear to be old” and that “questions need to be answered.”
ABC News - Ron Safer, an attorney for Bradley Benavides, said the government should be able to offer evidence “today” against the two “dedicated public servants.”
Alternet - The Justice Department charged former FBI agents Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides with lying to Congress about their roles in investigating Hunter Biden’s laptop case.
Alternet - Floris’s attorneys challenged the government’s handling of the case and said they had asked to address it at a court hearing.
NPR - The Trump administration is seeking to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey. His attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said Comey maintains his innocence and will contest the case.
NPR - A Justice Department spokesperson said the department would not comment further because the investigation is ongoing.
NPR - Comey said, “I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid of these people — and I still believe in an independent federal judiciary.”
NPR - Prosecutor John Durham investigated the disclosure of classified information; Comey’s lawyers said Durham recommended no charges in a classified memo.
WHAT:
ABC News - Court documents alleged that Floris and Benavides lied to Congress on separate occasions: Floris on July 19, 2023, and Benavides on Sept. 28, 2023.
ABC News - Prosecutors alleged the statements were intended to minimize or conceal the FBI Foreign Influence Task Force’s engagement and communications about Hunter Biden investigations and to impede a congressional investigation.
ABC News - The affidavit cited congressional and FBI witnesses, along with FBI documents, as evidence that the agents knew about the Hunter Biden investigation.
NPR - Trump asked Comey at a private dinner to pledge personal loyalty; Comey documented the encounter in a contemporaneous memorandum.
NPR - Robert Mueller’s investigation found that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and that Trump’s team welcomed the help, but found insufficient evidence to prove criminal collaboration.
NPR - Comey published the memoir *A Higher Loyalty* in 2018, portraying Trump as “untethered to truth”; Trump called Comey an “untruthful slime ball” and accused him of treason, which Comey called “dumb lies.”
Alternet - The Justice Department filed charges against Floris and Benavides, then filed a superseding complaint adding obstruction of justice and amending earlier charges.
Alternet - Floris’s attorneys said the government filed an unsigned, unsworn complaint overnight and argued that criminal charges must be authorized by a grand jury, a judge, or the defendant.
NPR - The Justice Department filed a criminal information against Comey concerning an alleged leak of classified information connected to a 2016 New York Times story. Comey’s lawyers asked a judge to dismiss it.
NPR - Prosecutors allege Comey directed staff to contact a New York Times journalist to correct accuracy concerns and thereby illegally transferred classified information.
NPR - Comey has faced two other criminal cases: one was dismissed after a judge found the prosecutor’s appointment illegal; another indictment alleges he threatened Trump with an Instagram photo showing seashells arranged as “86 47.”
Alternet - The DOJ has faced failed attempts to prosecute Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, dropped criminal cases, and court rejections of lawsuits seeking state voter rolls.
NPR - A federal judge ruled that the firing of Comey’s daughter, Maurene, from her Justice Department prosecutor job was illegal.
WHERE:
Alternet - The Floris and Benavides case was scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Washington’s federal court.
NPR - The New York Times story concerned a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order requiring Yahoo to scan emails for messages potentially linked to a foreign terrorist organization.
WHEN:
NPR - The alleged leak concerned an October 2016 New York Times story. The criminal information was filed under seal on Oct. 6, 2016, ten years after publication, according to the article.
NPR - Federal authorities began investigating the disclosure in early 2017. Durham’s memo recommending no charges was dated December 2018; a second investigation opened in January 2019 and closed without charges in February 2020.
NPR - Comey was FBI director when Trump took office in 2017 and was fired in May 2017.
WHY:
Alternet - Floris’s attorneys said the complaint and added charge were an attempt to delay their client’s right to challenge the charges in court.
NPR - Comey’s attorneys argued that the criminal information cannot satisfy the ten-year statute of limitations, which they said requires an indictment within that period.
HOW:
ABC News - Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said the judge who approved the complaint needed additional time to determine whether probable cause existed; Faruqui described charging such old allegations by complaint as rare.
NPR - The Justice Department said filing a criminal information to toll the statute of limitations is a recognized federal-court practice approved by multiple Circuit Courts of Appeals.
(UPDATED October 27, 2026 18:02 UTC)
A federal judge questioned the age of allegations that former FBI agents Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides lied to Congress about the bureau’s Hunter Biden investigation, as prosecutors added an obstruction charge and their lawyers challenged how the case was filed. Separately, the Justice Department charged former FBI Director James Comey over an alleged leak of classified information to a New York Times reporter; Comey maintains his innocence, and his lawyers are asking a judge to dismiss the case, arguing the filing came too late. A magistrate judge said the allegations against Floris and Benavides appeared old and that questions remained, while Comey’s attorneys also dispute the legal basis for his prosecution.
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(UPDATED October 27, 2026 16:15 UTC)
The Justice Department has charged former FBI agents Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides with lying to Congress about the Hunter Biden laptop investigation, then added an obstruction charge; Floris’s attorneys challenge how the case was filed and say the charges are meant to delay her court challenge. The department is also seeking to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey over an alleged leak of classified information tied to a New York Times story, while Comey maintains his innocence and his lawyers have asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing the filing does not meet the statute of limitations. Prosecutors allege Comey directed staff to contact a journalist about the story, which concerned a secret surveillance order; his lawyers say prosecutor John Durham recommended no charges, and a federal judge has ruled that the firing of Comey’s daughter from her Justice Department job was illegal.