U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s team acknowledged screwup in case against former FBI officials

A case brought by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office against two former FBI officials hit trouble in court Thursday, when the agent behind the charging affidavit testified that prosecutors had acknowledged an error. Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides face allegations of lying to Congress about what they knew regarding an investigation into Hunter Biden's laptop, according to NBC News.

Special Agent Ryan Witt told Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui that his sworn statement relied on a congressional staffer who had actually witnessed only Benavides' testimony, not Floris'. On a Monday call with House Judiciary Committee general counsel Steve Castor, Pirro aide Carlton Davis said the mistake was the prosecutors' own and sought help locating someone who had been present. Witt said he has still reached no such person. Faruqui threw out a replacement complaint filed that night, which no officer or judge had signed.

Witt also said he was assigned in July after FBI Director Kash Patel sent a letter, that he worried the matter would look political, and that senior FBI leaders monitored progress. Defense attorneys Mary Dohrmann and Ron Safer argued the case reflects political pressure. Faruqui expects to rule in writing Monday morning.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NBC News’s reporting. Read the full story at NBC News →