Federal judge dismisses DOJ case against two ex-FBI officials in Hunter Biden laptop probe

A federal judge on Monday tossed the Justice Department's latest attempt to punish two former FBI officials who were involved in the Hunter Biden laptop investigation.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui said that the government's case was tantamount to "weaponization," and slammed its error-riddled arguments as "slapdash," according to MS NOW's Ken Dilanian.

Charges Against Former Officials

The DOJ attempted to prosecute former intelligence analyst Nikki Floris, who ran the intelligence division at the Washington Field Office, and Bradley Benavides, a former deputy assistant director for counterintelligence. Both were charged with lying to Congress regarding Biden's laptop contents, and surrendered on arrest warrants last month.

"This does not feel like an investigation. It feels like a broken one-wish willow obsession," Faruqui said, comparing the case to the hit horror blockbuster, Obsession.

Faruqui noted that he was "deeply troubled by what has happened here in this case," and that the government's procedure "cannot be described as anything other than weaponization."

"It was a rush to charge, and that was a mistake," Faruqui said.

Background of the Laptop Scandal

The laptop scandal began in December 2019, when a Wilmington, Delaware-area computer repair shop owner gave an abandoned laptop purportedly belonging to Biden to Donald Trump's former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani then handed a copy of the laptop's hard drive to local law enforcement, which handed over the contents to the FBI.

In the years that followed, Republicans leveraged the laptop's myriad contents to escalate scrutiny and speculation surrounding the Biden family's business dealings with Burisma, a Ukrainian natural gas and energy company.

Giuliani and Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist, insisted that the laptop contained evidence that the Biden family made millions of dollars after former President Joe Biden and a Burisma adviser held a meeting. (The New York Post, which ran the original story on its front page, later said that the contents of the laptop were mixed with fake material and that most of the data could not be verified.)

The alleged meeting became central to an impeachment probe against the elder Biden. Republicans claimed at the time that Biden had engaged in corruption, and had peddled the influence of his vice presidency to rake in cash.

Congressional Briefing and Collapse of the Investigation

Floris and Benavides briefed Republican lawmakers in 2020 about the contents of the laptop as part of a congressional investigation. Senator Chuck Grassley has since claimed that the pair gave the briefing in order to cast the probe as Russian disinformation.

But the entire laptop investigation fell apart in 2024 after its star witness, Alexander Smirnov, admitted the conspiracy was in fact Russian disinformation. Smirnov admitted to Justice Department prosecutors that "officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved" in fabricating the Hunter Biden narrative. In the ensuing fallout, Smirnov told investigators he was in contact with "four different [top] Russian officials," two of whom were the "heads of the entities they represent."

This story has been updated.

Read more about the case: Judge Trashes DOJ Attempt to Add More Charges Over Hunter Biden Laptop

Democrats' Last-Ditch Effort to Stop Haley Stevens's Rogers Endorsement

Democrats from Representative Debbie Dingell to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tried to talk to Haley Stevens in the days after her fiancé Jason Turkish announced he'd be endorsing Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, frantically trying to ensure that she wouldn't do the same. It didn't work.

Politico's Playbook reported Monday that Ocasio-Cortez spoke to the Michigan representative on the phone for 25 minutes last Wednesday, the same day Turkish made his announcement. Stevens also reassured the New York congresswoman over text message that she would not be voting against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, whom she endorsed after losing to him in the primary.

"Thank you so much for talking to me and hearing me," Stevens texted. "It means the world. Now back to the productive stuff."

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"You really did and thank you for talking to me too," Ocasio-Cortez replied. "I'm sorry again and I'm really glad we got to connect and talk and I hope we are able to more. Sending you a big hug."

Dingell spoke to Stevens the night before she endorsed Mike Rogers, and Stevens reportedly reassured her that she would do no such thing.

Representative Jamie Raskin also spoke with Stevens for 25 minutes on Saturday night, he told The Washington Post. She assured him as well that she would be celebrating with Democrats on election night.

All this outreach apparently meant nothing, as Stevens stood up members of her own party on Sunday in order to publicly endorse Rogers.

Stevens Cited Feeling Excluded

Stevens seems to have changed her mind because she felt excluded. Last week, she complained to Politico about not being invited to an event with Ocasio-Cortez in Michigan, saying, "Nobody wants the Democratic Party to feel like an exclusive club.... It's starting to feel like AOC comes in and it's exclusive." She also complained about not getting a text back in 2025, though another source reported it was Stevens who said text messages weren't the best way to get in touch with her.

Stevens's own staff tried getting through to her too, texting her in alarm after Turkish's endorsement, asking if she would endorse Rogers. Her response: "Omg, why would you think I would do that?!!" She also spoke to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and others—telling all of them she remained all-in for El-Sayed. She confirmed her appearance with Representative Jim Clyburn and El-Sayed at a church in Detroit on Sunday, only to stand them up to appear with Rogers.

"I'm dumbfounded by this turn of events," Raskin told the Post. "Something doesn't compute about this whole sequence of events."

Editor's Pick: Has Anyone in History Ever Crashed Out Like Haley Stevens Just Did?

Trump Shares Odd Elvis Comparison Image Days Before Midterms

The president is suddenly vying to be seen as a very different type of king.

Just days out from midterm elections that are looking increasingly bad for Republicans, Donald Trump is suddenly looking for some external validation. The president shared a strange image to his Truth Social on Sunday that mirrored a photograph of his own face against Elvis Presley's. The post did not include a caption or any explanation for the sudden, unwarranted comparison between the U.S. president and "The King" of rock and roll.

It's no secret that Trump adores Elvis. During his first term, Trump posthumously awarded the singer the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In the years since, he has repeatedly compared himself to Elvis, telling rally crowds that as a young boy he was often compared to Elvis for his good looks. Trump even pilgrimaged to Elvis's former estate, Graceland, in March, marveling at the musician's "great genius" and fame.

Recent Behavior Raises Concerns

But Trump's recent behavior has triggered more genuine concern than exhausted eye rolls. While touring the country over the last several weeks, Trump has fixated on his White House ballroom project, threatened further action against Iran, repeatedly complimented Ohio Senator Jon Husted's ass, and assured the public that he has bested several cognitive exams designed to test for dementia—though his shifting remarks and muddled recollections of the tests' contents don't actually seem to align with what the exam authors say they cover.

It's not the first time, however, that Trump's vanity has extended far beyond the scope of reality. In 2022, Trump released a deck of NFT Trump trading cards that bore almost no resemblance to his real face and body. The AI-generated Trump variants reimagined the then septuagenarian as a ripped superhero, a straight-backed astronaut, a thunderbolt-wielding god, a blonde-haired version of George Washington crossing the Delaware, and a cowboy. The public apparently found those versions of Trump worth investing in: The digital cards reportedly netted the president roughly $4.6 million.

Read more about Trump: The Trump Administration's Stealthiest Voter Suppression Scheme

Haley Stevens Flees Press Conference After Protester Calls Her a "Traitor"

Representative Haley Stevens fled a press conference after a protester confronted her over her last-minute endorsement of Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.

Speaking to reporters alongside Rogers in Detroit on Sunday, Stevens struggled to explain her sudden flip-flop.

"How can you support a candidate who stands so firmly with some of the policies that you stood so firmly against?" one reporter asked.

"Well, look, nothing is perfect—" Stevens said, before being interrupted.

"Haley's a traitor! Haley Stevens is a traitor!" a protester shouted.

One reporter attempted to continue the interview, but Stevens turned and quickly left, with Rogers following her.

Staff Resignations Follow Endorsement

Stevens released a video Sunday announcing her endorsement of Rogers, after she'd previously called him a "rubber stamp for Donald Trump's dangerous agenda." Her sudden revolt follows a pathetic effort to urge El-Sayed to condemn his supporters' criticism of Israel.

Everyone—including her own team—expected her to appear at a campaign event with El-Sayed on Sunday, but instead she arrived at an event for his opponent. Her official staff, including her longtime chief, promptly resigned.

Stevens's shameful endorsement of a MAGA Republican may yet prove to be a unifying moment for the Democratic Party. Her senseless defection has earned widespread condemnation from progressive and establishment Democrats alike, and El-Sayed's campaign has seen a late funding surge.

Read more about Stevens: Has Anyone in History Ever Crashed Out Like Haley Stevens Just Did?

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