By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) – An FBI agent who helped lead the case against two former senior bureau officials accused of lying to Congress about Hunter Biden investigations testified on Tuesday that he feared the probe would look “political”.
The testimony came at a hearing to decide whether the case against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, both former senior counterintelligence officials, can go forward. It adds to defense claims that the Trump Justice Department brought the case for political reasons, which prosecutors deny.
FBI special agent Bryan Witt said his concerns were based on the fact that the probe began in July, the day after President Donald Trump gave a primetime speech in which he directed the FBI and other agencies to investigate whether the US intelligence community suppressed information about foreign meddling in the 2020 election.
One of the former FBI officials who was charged, Nikki Floris, sought to discredit an FBI intelligence report that said China sought to influence the 2020 election in favor of Biden. FBI Director Kash Patel directed the FBI’s field office in Kansas City, Missouri, where Witt is based, to investigate following Trump’s address, Witt testified.
“I had concerns this would be viewed as political,” Witt said.
The testimony revealed concerns within the FBI about a probe into two of the FBI’s most senior counterintelligence officials whose actions Trump and Republican lawmakers had condemned for years. The case is the latest brought by the Trump Justice Department to face claims of political bias.
Justice Department officials have argued the former FBI officials should be held accountable for misleading a congressional investigation. Spokespeople for the Justice Department and FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prosecutors called Witt to testify as the agent who outlined the allegations in a criminal complaint.
Asked by Floris’ defense lawyer, Margaret Donovan, if he viewed the investigation as a “witch hunt,” Witt denied making that statement but said “people generally viewed it as that around the office.”
The direction of the probe eventually changed from foreign election influence to 2023 testimony by Floris and Benavides before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. Both were charged last week with making false statements about their knowledge and involvement in Hunter Biden investigations.
Hunter Biden was charged during his father’s administration with tax and gun crimes. Former President Joe Biden pardoned his son shortly before leaving office.
Floris and Benavides were both supervisors on the FBI’s foreign influence task force ahead of the 2020 election. A criminal complaint accused them of lying to the House panel in denying or downplaying their role in Hunter Biden probes, citing internal FBI records and witness interviews.
JUDGE CRITICIZES PROSECUTORS
Attorneys for Floris and Benavides have disputed the allegations and accused the Trump administration of bringing the case to drive a political narrative.
US Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui, who presided over the hearing, said their claims had some credibility as he condemned prosecutors for filing a new criminal complaint early on Tuesday that added an obstruction charge against both defendants without seeking a judge’s approval. Faruqui said he was aware of no previous instance of prosecutors filing a criminal complaint that had not been approved by a magistrate judge.
Prosecutors denied doing anything improper and argued they were not legally required to seek a judge’s sign-off.
Faruqui told prosecutors their conduct bolstered defense claims that “everything here is atypical and bizarre and that is because this is not an appropriate case.”
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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