Judge Rebukes Prosecutors as Former FBI Official Faces Charges in Laptop Probe
WHO:
ABC News - The Justice Department said it was “following the facts and the law, not anyone’s political timetable.”
ABC News - David Laufman, a former senior Justice Department official who served under Democratic and Republican administrations, said the department showed “a brazen disregard for time-honored norms and protocols” in politically sensitive investigations.
ABC News - Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department does not exist independently of the White House and denied that its investigative decisions are political.
ABC News - President Trump said he did not know about the latest case against James Comey, then called him “a dirty cop.”
ABC News - Comey said, “I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid of these people — and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.”
ABC News - The Justice Department announced the charges against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides on Friday.
ABC News - Floris’s attorney Mary Dohrmann said evidence showed the prosecution was about “some political football — and not the law or the facts.”
ABC News - Benavides’s attorney Ron Safer questioned what evidence showed that his client remembered the correct answers in September 2023 but knowingly gave incorrect ones.
Alternet - National-security expert Marcy Wheeler said prosecutors’ handling of the case could provide evidence for lawsuits and potentially impeachment or criminal indictments.
Alternet - Anna Bower of Lawfare identified House Judiciary Committee counsel Steve Castor as a witness; Witt said he had spoken to Castor only on Monday, and Castor was not present for the agents’ interviews.
ABC News - The article reported that Hunter Biden was convicted on gun and tax charges and that President Joe Biden pardoned him in late 2024.
ABC News - U.S. Magistrate Zia Faruqui rejected a Justice Department filing in the case against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides.
ABC News - FBI Special Agent Bryan Witt testified that FBI Director Kash Patel directed the investigation and that he was assigned to it through the chain of command.
ABC News - Defense lawyers included Margaret Donovan for Floris, Mary Dohrmann for Floris, and Ron Safer for Benavides.
NY Post - Floris appeared in court for a probable-cause hearing and was seen sobbing in a courthouse hallway during a lunch break.
Alternet - Witt said he had never received an investigative tasking directly from an FBI director during his career and agreed that the assignment was “unusual.”
Alternet - The article identified Jeanine Pirro, Todd Blanche, and Kash Patel in connection with the case and quoted national-security expert Marcy Wheeler commenting on it.
Alternet - Steve Castor, counsel for the House Judiciary Committee and a former Trump impeachment defense attorney, was identified as a witness; Witt said he had spoken with Castor the day before the hearing.
WHAT:
ABC News - The Justice Department said its practice of avoiding overt investigative actions close to elections is informal, not a written rule; it said policy focuses on purpose rather than proximity to Election Day and does not require ongoing work to stop during election season.
ABC News - Federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home, seized her phone, and issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to some relatives, in an investigation involving her immigration paperwork.
ABC News - Prosecutors postponed scheduled grand jury testimony by multiple witnesses in a Florida investigation into alleged coordination against Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.
ABC News - Prosecutors are attempting a third criminal case against Comey, alleging he leaked classified information a decade earlier; his lawyers are seeking dismissal.
ABC News - Judge Zia Faruqui said prosecutors’ actions were “throwing enormous amounts of gasoline onto this fire” and made him “more and more concerned” that the charges were politically motivated.
ABC News - Faruqui said FBI leadership maintained a keen interest in the probe; Bryan Witt testified, “They wanted us to investigate aggressively.”
ABC News - Faruqui described the case as “Everything is a little sideshow on top of a sideshow.”
ABC News - The New York Post reported receiving the laptop’s hard drive from Rudy Giuliani, which included emails that appeared to show Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings.
ABC News - Faruqui said prosecutors’ conduct was “throwing enormous amounts of gasoline onto this fire” and told them their actions made him increasingly concerned the charges were politically motivated.
ABC News - Faruqui said it was not typical for a U.S. president to direct investigations of people and considered Trump and Patel’s involvement relevant to assessing probable cause.
ABC News - Prosecutors’ use of a criminal complaint was described as unusual because that mechanism is more often used to interrupt an active crime or quickly take someone into custody due to a danger to society.
ABC News - The FBI recalled an intelligence report about alleged Chinese influence through fraudulent driver’s licenses because senior officials questioned the intelligence’s validity.
ABC News - Faruqui rejected an amended criminal complaint that added an obstruction charge, ruling it was improperly filed without judicial approval. He said he had never seen an unsigned criminal complaint and called the filing “inappropriate.”
ABC News - Floris and Benavides are accused of making false statements to Congress about their knowledge of a laptop the Justice Department says belonged to Hunter Biden.
ABC News - Prosecutors allege the pair understated their knowledge in congressional interviews and that this impeded the investigation. They had served as leaders of the FBI Foreign Influence Task Force.
ABC News - Witt said he considered the investigation a “huge distraction,” had concerns it was political, and testified, “They wanted us to investigate aggressively.”
Alternet - Witt testified that neither Floris nor Benavides had been sworn in during the interviews, despite an affidavit stating they were “sworn to tell the truth.”
Alternet - The Justice Department said it could not discuss what Castor knew because of the Speech and Debate Clause.
WHERE:
ABC News - Omar represents Minnesota’s 5th District; the FBI search of her home was approved by a federal judge.
ABC News - The hearing took place in federal court in Washington, D.C.; Witt worked in Kansas City, Missouri, where the investigation was assigned.
NY Post - Floris was seen in a courthouse hallway in Washington, D.C.
WHEN:
ABC News - A judge is scheduled to hear arguments Friday on Comey’s request to dismiss the case.
ABC News - Attorneys for Floris and Benavides returned to court Wednesday seeking immediate dismissal of the case.
ABC News - The hearing occurred on Tuesday; Witt said the investigation was directed in July after President Trump gave a speech about election interference.
ABC News - The congressional interviews at issue took place in 2023. The laptop was allegedly left at a Delaware repair shop in 2019.
Alternet - The article identified Trump’s speech as occurring on July 17.
WHY:
ABC News - Witt said the inquiry stemmed from Trump administration suspicions that the FBI had suppressed intelligence in 2020 that could have harmed the Bidens.
ABC News - Floris’s lawyer said evidence suggested the prosecution concerned a political issue rather than “the law or the facts.”
HOW:
ABC News - Judge Faruqui said Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel’s involvement was relevant to determining whether probable cause supported the charges, stating, “It’s not typical that the president of the United States says go investigate people.”
ABC News - At the subsequent hearing, defense attorneys sought immediate dismissal of the case, citing insufficient evidence and alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
ABC News - The Justice Department filed its amended complaint directly on the court docket without obtaining a judge’s approval of probable cause.
Alternet - Witt said Patel’s directive was delivered to the Kansas City FBI office in July, and Witt was assigned through the chain of command.
(UPDATED October 28, 2026 23:59 UTC)
A federal magistrate judge rejected an amended complaint against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, saying prosecutors’ actions heightened his concern that the case was politically motivated. The pair are accused of making false statements to Congress about their knowledge of a laptop prosecutors say belonged to Hunter Biden, but FBI agent Bryan Witt testified that neither was sworn in and called the investigation unusual, adding that leaders wanted it pursued aggressively. Attorney General Todd Blanche denied that investigative decisions are political, while President Trump said he knew nothing about the case against James Comey before calling him “a dirty cop”; Comey says he is innocent, and a judge is scheduled to hear his request to dismiss the case Friday.
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(UPDATED October 28, 2026 23:00 UTC)
A federal judge rejected a Justice Department filing adding an obstruction charge against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, ruling it was improperly submitted without judicial approval. At a Washington hearing, Judge Zia Faruqui said the conduct of prosecutors and the involvement of President Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel heightened his concern that the case was politically motivated; the pair are accused of making false statements to Congress about their knowledge of a laptop linked to Hunter Biden. FBI agent Bryan Witt testified that Patel directed the investigation and that officials wanted it pursued aggressively, while defense lawyers sought dismissal, arguing the evidence was insufficient.
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(UPDATED October 28, 2026 17:12 UTC)
A federal magistrate in Washington rejected prosecutors’ amended complaint against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, saying it was improperly filed without judicial approval and raising concern that the case was politically motivated. The pair are accused of making false statements to Congress about what they knew of a laptop allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden, and their lawyers sought dismissal, arguing there was insufficient evidence and prosecutorial misconduct. FBI agent Bryan Witt testified that Director Kash Patel ordered the investigation through the chain of command, calling the assignment unusual and saying he worried the inquiry was political.
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(UPDATED October 28, 2026 15:02 UTC)
A federal magistrate in Washington rejected a Justice Department complaint adding an obstruction charge against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, ruling it was filed without judicial approval. At a probable-cause hearing, FBI agent Bryan Witt testified that Director Kash Patel directed the investigation and that Witt was assigned through the chain of command, calling the assignment unusual and saying he had concerns the inquiry was political. Floris and Benavides are accused of making false statements to Congress about their knowledge of a laptop the Justice Department says belonged to Hunter Biden.