Judge Deals Trump Massive Loss Over Hunter Biden Laptop “Obsession”

A federal judge on Monday tossed the Justice Department’s latest attempt to punish two former FBI officials who were involved in the Hunter Biden laptop investigation.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui said that the government’s case was tantamount to “weaponization,” and slammed its error-riddled arguments as “slapdash,” according to MS NOW’s Ken Dilanian.

The DOJ attempted to prosecute former intelligence analyst Nikki Floris, who ran the intelligence division at the Washington Field Office, and Bradley Benavides, a former deputy assistant director for counterintelligence. Both were charged with lying to Congress regarding Biden’s laptop contents, and surrendered on arrest warrants last month.

“This does not feel like an investigation. It feels like a broken one-wish willow obsession,” Faruqui said, comparing the case to the hit horror blockbuster Obsession.

Faruqui noted that he was “deeply troubled by what has happened here in this case,” and that the government’s procedure “cannot be described as anything other than weaponization.”

“It was a rush to charge, and that was a mistake,” Faruqui said.

The laptop scandal began in December 2019, when a Wilmington, Delaware–area computer repair shop owner gave an abandoned laptop purportedly belonging to Biden to Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani then handed a copy of the laptop’s hard drive to local law enforcement, which handed over the contents to the FBI.

In the years that followed, Republicans leveraged the laptop’s myriad contents to escalate scrutiny and speculation surrounding the Biden family’s business dealings with Burisma, a Ukrainian natural gas and energy company.

Giuliani and Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, insisted that the laptop contained evidence that the Biden family made millions of dollars after former President Joe Biden and a Burisma adviser held a meeting. (The New York Post, which ran the original story on its front page, later said that the contents of the laptop were mixed with fake material and that most of the data could not be verified.)

The alleged meeting became central to an impeachment probe against the elder Biden. Republicans claimed at the time that Biden had engaged in corruption, and had peddled the influence of his vice presidency to rake in cash.

Floris and Benavides briefed Republican lawmakers in 2020 about the contents of the laptop as part of a congressional investigation. Senator Chuck Grassley has since claimed that the pair gave the briefing in order to cast the probe as Russian disinformation.

But the entire laptop investigation fell apart in 2024 after its star witness, Alexander Smirnov, admitted the conspiracy was in fact Russian disinformation. Smirnov admitted to Justice Department prosecutors that “officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved” in fabricating the Hunter Biden narrative. In the ensuing fallout, Smirnov told investigators he was in contact with “four different [top] Russian officials,” two of whom were the “heads of the entities they represent.”

This story has been updated.

Democrats from Representative Debbie Dingell to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tried to talk to Haley Stevens in the days after her fiancé, Jason Turkish, announced he’d be endorsing Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, frantically trying to ensure that she wouldn’t do the same. It didn’t work.

Politico’s Playbook reported Monday that Ocasio-Cortez spoke to the Michigan representative on the phone for 25 minutes last Wednesday, the same day Turkish made his announcement. Stevens also reassured the New York congresswoman over text message that she would not be voting against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, whom she endorsed after losing to him in the primary.

“Thank you so much for talking to me and hearing me,” Stevens texted. “It means the world. Now back to the productive stuff.”

“You really did and thank you for talking to me too,” Ocasio-Cortez replied. “I’m sorry again and I’m really glad we got to connect and talk and I hope we are able to more. Sending you a big hug.”

Dingell spoke to Stevens the night before she endorsed Mike Rogers, and Stevens reportedly reassured her that she would do no such thing.

Representative Jamie Raskin also spoke with Stevens for 25 minutes on Saturday night, he told The Washington Post. She assured him as well that she would be celebrating with Democrats on election night.

All this outreach apparently meant nothing, as Stevens stood up members of her own party on Sunday in order to publicly endorse Rogers.

Stevens seems to have changed her mind because she felt excluded. Last week, she complained to Politico about not being invited to an event with Ocasio-Cortez in Michigan, saying, “Nobody wants the Democratic Party to feel like an exclusive club.… It’s starting to feel like AOC comes in and it’s exclusive.” She also complained about not getting a text back in 2025, though another source reported it was Stevens who said text messages weren’t the best way to get in touch with her.

Stevens’s own staff tried getting through to her too, texting her in alarm after Turkish’s endorsement, asking if she would endorse Rogers. Her response: “Omg, why would you think I would do that?!!” She also spoke to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and others—telling all of them she remained all in for El-Sayed. She confirmed her appearance with Representative Jim Clyburn and El-Sayed at a church in Detroit on Sunday, only to stand them up to appear with Rogers.

“I’m dumbfounded by this turn of events,” Raskin told the Post. “Something doesn’t compute about this whole sequence of events.”

The president is suddenly vying to be seen as a very different type of king.

Just days out from midterm elections that are looking increasingly bad for Republicans, Donald Trump is suddenly looking for some external validation. The president shared a strange image to his Truth Social on Sunday that mirrored a photograph of his own face against Elvis Presley’s. The post did not include a caption or any explanation for the sudden, unwarranted comparison between the U.S. president and “The King” of rock and roll.

It’s no secret that Trump adores Elvis. During his first term, Trump posthumously awarded the singer the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In the years since, he has repeatedly compared himself to Elvis, telling rally crowds that as a young boy he was often compared to Elvis for his good looks. Trump even pilgrimaged to Elvis’s former estate, Graceland, in March, marveling at the musician’s “great genius” and fame.

But Trump’s recent behavior has triggered more genuine concern than exhausted eye rolls. While touring the country over the last several weeks, Trump has fixated on his White House ballroom project, threatened further action against Iran, repeatedly complimented Ohio Senator Jon Husted’s ass, and assured the public that he has bested several cognitive exams designed to test for dementia—though his shifting remarks and muddled recollections of the tests’ contents don’t actually seem to align with what the exam authors say they cover.

It’s not the first time, however, that Trump’s vanity has extended far beyond the scope of reality. In 2022, Trump released a deck of NFT Trump trading cards that bore almost no resemblance to his real face and body. The AI-generated Trump variants reimagined the then septuagenarian as a ripped superhero, a straight-backed astronaut, a thunderbolt-wielding god, a blonde-haired version of George Washington crossing the Delaware, and a cowboy. The public apparently found those versions of Trump worth investing in: The digital cards reportedly netted the president roughly $4.6 million.

Representative Haley Stevens fled a press conference after a protester confronted her over her last-minute endorsement of Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.

Speaking to reporters alongside Rogers in Detroit on Sunday, Stevens struggled to explain her sudden flip-flop.

“How can you support a candidate who stands so firmly with some of the policies that you stood so firmly against?” one reporter asked. 

“Well, look, nothing is perfect—” Stevens said, before being interrupted.  

“Haley’s a traitor! Haley Stevens is a traitor!” a protester shouted. 

One reporter attempted to continue the interview, but Stevens turned and quickly left, with Rogers following her. 

Stevens released a video Sunday announcing her endorsement of Rogers, after she’d previously called him a “rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda.” Her sudden revolt follows a pathetic effort to urge El-Sayed to condemn his supporters’ criticism of Israel. 

Everyone—including her own team—expected her to appear at a campaign event with El-Sayed on Sunday, but instead she arrived at an event for his opponent. Her official staff, including her longtime chief, promptly resigned. 

Stevens’s shameful endorsement of a MAGA Republican may yet prove to be a unifying moment for the Democratic Party. Her senseless defection has earned widespread condemnation from progressive and establishment Democrats alike, and El-Sayed’s campaign has seen a late funding surge.  

Haley Stevens has lost the plot.

The failed Michigan Democratic Senate hopeful shocked the political world on Sunday by endorsing Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers just days before his midterm election against Democratic nominee Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, whom she previously endorsed.

Rogers is an Islamophobic, anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ MAGA senator whom Stevens previously called a “rubber stamp” for Donald Trump’s agenda. But on Sunday—after her fiancé, Jason Turkish, suddenly went public with his own endorsement of Rogers—Stevens made a complete about-face. She skipped a Souls to the Polls event with El-Sayed and South Carolina Representative James Clyburn, instead showing up at a church with Rogers to announce her endorsement.

This occurred even as Stevens assured state leaders just hours before that she was still supporting El-Sayed. Shortly after her announcement, more than half her campaign staff quit—calling her actions shocking and heartbreaking. When given a chance to explain herself to CNN’s Anderson Cooper late on Sunday night, Stevens completely unraveled.

“Your fellow Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell said that she talked to you at midnight last night, and that you told her you were not going to endorse Mike Rogers,” Cooper asked. “If that is true, what changed between then and this morning?”

“Well look, this is just a weight off my shoulders, OK? Abdul has been gettin’ angrier and angrier. I was trying to help.… That ad was very painful, there are so many Democrats who wanna vote for our Democratic nominee. And they’re just being told, ‘This is a party you don’t belong in.’ … That’s just where I landed on this. I woke up this morning clear-eyed,” Stevens said, not actually answering the question.

Cooper reiterated the question, noting that El-Sayed condemned the ad she was upset about, which he was not responsible for and which linked Israel to higher costs back in America. Stevens offered another nonsensical word-salad answer.

“Anderson, this is a broader point about what’s going on in our party—”

“It’s actually not, it’s really just a question of why you changed your mind.”

“We were just recognizing—look, I haven’t cast my vote yet—”

“So you might change your mind again?”

“Anderson, my mind is made up. I’m rock solid. I’m an independent woman. I made my decision. I still love my party a whole lot, I know there’s a lot of people working really hard on elections all over this country,” she rambled, blinking frequently. “I was a Democrat who flipped a Republican seat here in Michigan. And this is also about Michigan.”

“It’s really just about you right now, and I’m asking you questions,” Cooper replied. “Back in August, you posted on social media ‘Mike Rogers will be another rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda, we can’t afford to give MAGA another Senate seat in November.’ Why is it OK now, why can you afford now to give MAGA another Senate seat in November?”

“Well, why is it OK to have the Democratic Party and a top nominee ejecting, or injecting rather, this type of anger and lack of kindness?... It sounds like you’re upset with me too, Anderson!”

“Well you’re not answering any of my questions, so it’s somewhat frustrating,” Cooper said.

“I don’t like seeing a Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate campaigning with somebody who’s standing with someone who’s saying America deserved 9/11, I don’t like that,” she said, referring to streamer Hasan Piker. El-Sayed has already condemned Hasan Piker’s comments on 9/11, as well.

“Do you want Democrats to win control of the Senate?” Cooper asked directly.

“I absolutely do. I’m just casting my vote this one way,” Stevens said. She went on to speak incoherently about Piker again and seemed dismissive of her staff’s mass exodus.

“Do you believe that El-Sayed is hateful, or an antisemite?” Cooper asked.

“I think some of the actions have certainly been antisemitic.… I’m just sick of who he stands with. He’s picking Hasan Piker and the uncle,” she said, referring to Cenk Ungyur of The Young Turks, who created the ad about Israel and higher prices.

This was one of the worst political interviews in modern history. Stevens was not able to sufficiently explain her complete 180, and why she betrayed her own party days before the midterms. Democrats in Michigan and Washington, D.C., say she is no longer welcome in the party. Former Michigan Governor Jim Blanchard said Stevens’s fiancé, Turkish, was angrily “working her over” at dinner Friday night—and he hasn’t been the only one to blame him. Either way, the move feels like a career suicide.

What happened to “Vote Blue No Matter Who”? This stunning betrayal before what is arguably the single most important midterm election—calling potentially the first Muslim senator angry and hateful for criticizing Israel’s genocide of Palestinians—shows that it was never about Michiganders for Stevens, or taking back the Senate. It was about AIPAC and her own ego.