Judge Dismisses Charges Against 2 Ex-FBI Officials Over 2023 Testimony

A federal magistrate judge in Washington, D.C., dismissed criminal false-statement complaints against 2 former senior FBI intelligence officials on Monday, even as early voters across several states shared photographs of generative-AI "I Voted" stickers ahead of Tuesday's 2026 midterm elections.

Judge Zia Faruqui Dismisses Criminal Complaint Against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides

According to the Associated Press via ABC7 News, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui threw out a criminal complaint filed last month against former FBI intelligence officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides:

• 2023 Congressional Testimony on 2020 Briefings: Prosecutors had accused Floris and Benavides of making false statements during 2023 transcribed interviews with the House Judiciary Committee—just before a 5-year statute of limitations expired—about whether an August 2020 defensive briefing to Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin was intended to slow their inquiry into Hunter Biden's 2019 laptop.
• Court Cites Rushed Investigation: In a sharply worded order, Judge Faruqui wrote that the Justice Department opened the investigation after a July 2026 political speech, proceeded by criminal complaint after failing to secure a grand jury indictment, and tracked the case at the level of FBI Director Kash Patel. Faruqui ruled that the complaint lacked probable cause and noted that prosecutors had sought to pause the case for another 30 days.

Early Voters in Denton, Texas Spot Garbled Text on AI-Generated "I Voted" Stickers

Meanwhile, 404 Media reported Monday that early 2026 midterm voters in Denton, Texas and several other local jurisdictions have received AI-generated "I Voted" stickers at polling locations. One sticker commemorating the United States' 250 Years Anniversary featured an AI-rendered bald eagle surrounded by garbled lettering reading "CEKEVPATIVG EDELDOA" and "SEMIQUENCENTENNIAL"—contrasting sharply with viral human-drawn sticker contests run by election officials in Michigan, Kentucky, and Albany, New York, as well as Louisiana's commissioned artwork by local painter Becky Fos.