Case dismissed against 2 ex-FBI officials in Hunter Biden probe

The two former FBI officials, Nicole Floris and Bradley Benavides, were accused of falsely suggesting to Congress that they weren’t aware of the federal investigations surrounding Hunter Biden.

A federal magistrate judge on Monday dismissed a criminal complaint charging two former senior FBI counterintelligence officials with lying to Congress about their roles in the bureau's Hunter Biden investigation, saying the politically charged case lacked evidence and appeared to be timed with the midterm election.In a scathing, hour-long oral ruling, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui rebuked the Justice Department and the FBI for what he called a "slapdash" case that lacked any probable cause that there was evidence Nikki Floris or Bradley Benavides had committed a crime."Without motive, without direct evidence, I have nothing," he said. "It's not close. It's nothing.""I am deeply troubled by what has happened in this case," Faruqui said.

"What has transpired here can't be described as anything other than weaponization."Although the complaint was dismissed, the Justice Department could still appeal Faruqui's ruling to the chief judge or seek a grand jury indictment. A Justice Department spokesperson said it "disagrees with the Magistrate's decision, which remarkably appears to suggest that high-ranking government officials are immune from accountability for making materially false statements to Congress.""We are evaluating all options but cannot comment further on an ongoing criminal investigation," the spokesperson said. "The Department's actions will continue to be guided by the facts, the evidence, and the law — not politics."CBS News has also reached out to the