U.S.Magistrate Judge Zia M.
Faruqui, who previously apologized to a man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, rebuked the Justice Department on Tuesday over its attempt to bring new obstruction charges against two former FBI officials without first securing judicial approval.Former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides were arrested last week after the Department of Justice accused the duo of misrepresenting their involvement in investigations concerning former President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, in statements to Congress.Hours before prosecutors were scheduled to defend their original allegations at a preliminary hearing, where the government must establish probable cause, the DOJ filed a superseding criminal complaint seeking to add new charges against the former officials.The new complaint sought to add felony obstruction allegations against the former officials while softening some of the language prosecutors had used to describe their involvement in the Hunter Biden investigations.Faruqui sharply criticized the DOJ for filing an unsigned and unsworn criminal complaint in the middle of the night without first obtaining judicial approval.WHO IS JUDGE ZIA FARUQUI? WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE FEDERAL MAGISTRATE WHO APOLOGIZED TO COLE ALLENMagistrate Judge Zia M.
Faruqui speaks before a debate between incarcerated students and James Madison University students on the topic of abolishing life without parole at Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, D.C., on Nov.22, 2024.
(Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images)"I think they should have filed nothing," Faruqui said, according to reports from inside the courtroom."They never had complaints filed on their record that are unsigned, waiting for a judge to make a probable cause finding.
I think that it is inappropriate and harms the defendant.I'm frustrated that I got it in the middle of the night, but I'm much more concerned that it's filed on the public record....