Justice Department Adds Charges Against Ex-FBI Officials in Hunter Biden Laptop Probe
The Justice Department sought to add charges overnight against two former FBI officials accused of lying to Congress, and a federal magistrate judge criticized the move at a hearing on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON - The Hill reported that a federal magistrate judge criticized the Justice Department during a lengthy hearing on Tuesday over its attempt to add new charges overnight against two former FBI officials. The report was written by Sophie Brams. According to the summary of that report, the two are accused of lying to Congress about their knowledge of the federal investigation into Hunter Biden's laptop ahead of the 2020 election.
CBS News reported that a superseding complaint was filed against the former officials and that the document is unsigned and unsworn. CBS News said the filing came just hours before the defendants were due to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C., for a preliminary hearing.
The two outlets emphasize different aspects of the filing. CBS News focused on the form of the complaint and its timing relative to the court appearance, while The Hill focused on the overnight effort to add charges and the judge's response at the hearing. Neither summary describes the specific new charges.
The available summaries also leave several points unresolved. The Hill's summary describes the magistrate judge's criticism but ends before giving the judge's specific remarks, so the reasons for the criticism are not stated in the material reviewed here. CBS News's summary does not say whether the preliminary hearing took place or what occurred there.
Sources: CBS News: New charges filed ex-FBI officials related to Hunter Biden probe; The Hill: Judge criticizes Justice Department’s handling of ex-FBI officials’ charges over Hunter Biden investigation.