DOJ’s Hunter Biden laptop prosecution hits a snag after a federal judge questions department’s unorthodox filing

A federal judge on Tuesday criticized the Justice Department for its unconventional approach in a criminal case involving two former FBI officials. The case centers around allegations that the officials made false statements to Congress regarding their knowledge of a laptop believed to belong to Hunter Biden, son of former President Joe Biden.

U.S. Magistrate Zia Faruqui dismissed an amended criminal complaint filed by the Justice Department, which lacked the necessary probable cause. Faruqui questioned the Justice Department's reluctance to present the case to a probable cause determination. The original false statements case against the former officials, announced earlier, remained intact.

The case accuses the officials of downplaying their knowledge of a laptop that Hunter Biden left at a computer repair shop in 2019. The dispute involves the manner in which the case was filed, as the complaint was signed by a magistrate judge instead of an indictment voted on by a grand jury. The Justice Department has faced challenges in high-profile cases convincing grand juries in Washington to return indictments.

The case also ties into the foreign influence task force established in the previous Trump administration to monitor foreign influence campaigns, which has been criticized by congressional Republicans.