Judge Zia Faruqui said the case against officials Floris and Benavides was directed by Trump and Kash Patel.
By Catholics for Catholics
On Monday, a federal magistrate judge banished charges against two former F.B.I. intelligence officials accused of lying to Congress, berating prosecutors for what he defined as a letdown of one of their most basic responsibilities: demonstrating there was any probable cause that crimes had been perpetrated.
The magistrate judge, Zia M. Faruqui, in an expressive address from the bench in Federal District Court in Washington, , said that the case against the former officials — Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides — was a hurried, partisan prosecution directed by the White House with the aim to hamper the upcoming midterm elections. Two weeks ago, the administration charged the former officials with allegedly falsely minimizing their work on investigations involving Hunter Biden, the son of the former president, according to a story by Fox News.
“What has transpired here cannot be described as anything other than weaponization,” Faruqui said, describing the case as a “rush job” directed by President Donald Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Faruqui, who was appointed a U.S. magistrate judge in 2020, has in the past severely blasted federal prosecutors handling cases under the Trump administration.
The judge apologized to the suspect accused of plotting an assassination attempt against Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.
“To me, it’s extremely disturbing that he was put in five-point restraints, a person with no criminal history. It’s troubling,” said Faruqui, referring to suspect Cole Allen’s jail treatment in May. “I never heard of one Jan. 6 defendant who was put in five-point restraints or in a safe cell. If the only way to keep him safe is the most punitive thing, that’s a problem.”
The current case came from allegations that the officials lied to Congress about their knowledge of Hunter Biden’s laptop and the bureau’s handling of investigations involving him ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
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