Former FBI officials ask judge to dismiss Hunter Biden laptop charges as politically motivated

Two onetime FBI officials, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, are asking a federal magistrate to toss a criminal complaint charging them with misleading Congress about Hunter Biden's laptop. Their attorneys say the case exists to please President Donald Trump. It lands days before the midterms, amid a run of other high-profile Justice Department moves, according to The Independent.

According to the complaint, the pair played down what they actually knew when they spoke to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023. Prosecutors say the device was left at a repair shop in 2019. At a hearing, FBI special agent Bryan Witt testified that FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the probe and demanded regular updates, and that agents were told to look at Floris after Trump's July primetime address on his 2020 loss. Witt called the matter a "huge distraction." Prosecutor James Kirkpatrick countered that the two had reason to downplay their knowledge, since both ran a task force that never challenged claims tying the laptop to Russian disinformation.

Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui has not ruled. Even if the complaint is dismissed, prosecutors could still seek an indictment, though Washington grand juries have often declined such requests.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →