U.S. Attorney's Office acknowledges filing error in case against former FBI officials

Washington — An aide to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told a magistrate judge that prosecutors had made a filing error in the criminal case against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides. The error involved an affidavit that incorrectly identified a congressional staffer as having attended both officials' testimony, when the staffer was present only for Benavides.

Special Agent Ryan Witt testified that he contacted the staffer on Monday and was later joined on the call by Pirro aide Carlton Davis and Attorney Pirro. During the conversation, Davis said, "This is our f---up," and asked the staffer for assistance in locating someone who had been present for the testimony.

After the mistake was discovered, prosecutors filed a superseding criminal complaint and a new affidavit on Monday night, neither of which bore the signature of a law-enforcement officer or a judge. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui dismissed the complaint on Tuesday.

The case, which alleges that Floris and Benavides made false statements to Congress about their knowledge of the Hunter Biden laptop investigation, has drawn criticism from the defendants' counsel. Floris’ attorney Mary Dohrmann told the court that the affidavit contained additional inaccuracies and stripped context from alleged false statements. Benavides’ lawyer Ron Safer argued that labeling the prosecution as political is a talking point, but asserted that the present case is not driven by politics.

Witt, who was assigned to the investigation in July after a directive from FBI Director Kash Patel, expressed concerns that the case could be perceived as politically motivated. He also noted that senior FBI officials, including Patel, had been monitoring the investigation through meetings and briefings.

Judge Faruqui indicated that a written ruling on the matter is expected on Monday.