INTERNACIONAL
Judge who apologized to accused would-be Trump assassin lights up DOJ in Hunter Biden FBI case
U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui, who previously apologized to a man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, rebuked the Justice Department on Tuesday over its attempt to bring new obstruction charges against two former FBI officials without first securing judicial approval.
Former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides were arrested last week after the Department of Justice accused the duo of misrepresenting their involvement in investigations concerning former President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, in statements to Congress.
Hours before prosecutors were scheduled to defend their original allegations at a preliminary hearing, where the government must establish probable cause, the DOJ filed a superseding criminal complaint seeking to add new charges against the former officials. The new complaint sought to add felony obstruction allegations against the former officials while softening some of the language prosecutors had used to describe their involvement in the Hunter Biden investigations.
Faruqui sharply criticized the DOJ for filing an unsigned and unsworn criminal complaint in the middle of the night without first obtaining judicial approval.
WHO IS JUDGE ZIA FARUQUI? WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE FEDERAL MAGISTRATE WHO APOLOGIZED TO COLE ALLEN
«I think they should have filed nothing,» Faruqui said, according to reports from inside the courtroom. «They never had complaints filed on their record that are unsigned, waiting for a judge to make a probable cause finding. I think that it is inappropriate and harms the defendant. I’m frustrated that I got it in the middle of the night, but I’m much more concerned that it’s filed on the public record.»
«Why today on this one case have you changed the entire history of how you charge cases?» Faruqui asked the DOJ. «What is it? It appears that – it makes it look like the United States is afraid of me trying to find probable cause.»
John Borchert, a prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., said it was the first time he had filed new charges against someone without going through judicial review.
Faruqui rejected the superseding complaint because prosecutors had not secured the required judicial authorization, allowing the preliminary hearing to proceed on the original allegations that Floris and Benavides lied to Congress. Floris’ lawyers argued that the changes in language between the two documents calls into question the factual basis of the DOJ’s case.
JUDGE WHO APOLOGIZED TO WHCA SHOOTING SUSPECT WAS APPOINTED BY COURT FULL OF ANTI-TRUMP JUDGES
In the superseding complaint, prosecutors described Benavides and Floris as having been «involved in» the Foreign Influence Task Force’s work concerning Hunter Biden, a softer characterization than the original complaint’s suggestion that they had been at the «center» of those activities. Floris, who was previously said to have been involved in «scores of conversations» related to Biden’s son, is now only accused of participating in «conversations.»
In what may have been a reference to the recently unsealed charges against former FBI Director James Comey, Faruqui said that moving on a superseding complaint without a probable cause finding «would be like charging someone by information… but in a complaint context.»
«If you want a superseding complaint, like every other case that’s happened in this district, we will have a judge make a probable cause finding,» the judge said. «Not send me something in the middle of the night and expect that it gets done.»
Faruqui has previously faced criticism from conservatives over his support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and positions on pretrial detention. He also drew backlash after apologizing to Cole Allen, the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, and criticizing the government’s use of five-point restraints against him.
«To me, it’s extremely disturbing that he was put in five-point restraints, a person with no criminal history,» the judge said about Allen at a hearing earlier this year. «It’s troubling. I never heard of one Jan. 6 defendant who was put in five-point restraints or in a safe cell. If the only way to keep him safe is the most punitive thing, that’s a problem.»
The DOJ has also been questioned for charging via complaint rather than through a grand jury, a procedural shortcut usually reserved for imminent threats to public safety.
DEMOCRATS HAVE ‘DIRTY HANDS’ OVER COMPLAINTS ABOUT OMAR RAID WEEKS BEFORE ELECTION, EX-PROSECUTOR SAYS
Critics have questioned the timing of the charges, with midterm elections being just days away when news of the two former officials’ arrests broke.
Floris’ lawyers have similarly argued that the timing and content of the charges are meant to engineer publicity.
«What is going on at the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office? In the middle of the night, the government filed an unsigned and unsworn complaint attempting to fix the issues with their original charge against Ms. Floris and adding a new charge just as meritless as the first one,» said Floris’ legal team in a statement provided to CBS News.
«In our combined decades of DOJ service, we have never seen or even heard of something like this being filed,» they went on. «That’s because the public lodging of criminal charges must be authorized by the grand jury, a judge, or the defendant herself. Here, the government has taken that power for itself in a desperate attempt to delay our client’s right to challenge the charges in court and litigate this case in the media, rather than the courtroom. We have asked to address this outrageous government conduct against a decorated public servant at today’s court hearing.»
Legal teams for Floris and Benavides, as well as the DOJ, did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Digital on Tuesday.
politics, justice department, fbi, federal courts, hunter biden investigation explained, judiciary
INTERNACIONAL
Serbia’s student movement topples Vucic’s party after 14 years, but political agenda remains unclear
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Serbia’s longtime leader, President Aleksandar Vucic, conceded defeat Sunday to the student-led opposition in an election that sent shock waves throughout Europe and the Western Balkans.
«We do not have the final results yet, and many people will be surprised. Based on a stratified sample, it is clear that we have lost these elections. The student-led protest list has won,» Vucic said in an address to the nation Sunday night.
The Student List victory brings an end to 14 years of Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party rule, in what many are saying is the biggest political shake-up in the Balkans since the toppling of Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.
Observers say the Student List party’s policies remain vague, which has some worried about Serbia’s future.
Ana Brnabic, vice president of the main Board of the Serbian Progressive Party, told Fox News Digital that, «The election victory of the Student List recalls similar electoral triumphs in other countries. The Student List represents a classical anti-establishment movement: it had neither a program nor a coherent political ideology. In an essentially anarchic fashion, it opposed everything, claiming to fight for justice and against corruption.»
ANTI‑CORRUPTION PROTESTS HIT EUROPEAN NATION AS CALLS FOR NEW ELECTIONS GROW
Serbia’s former President and the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) candidate for Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic gestures during a pre-election rally at King Milan Square in Nis, Serbia, Oct. 21, 2026. (Djordje Kojadinovic/Reuters)
She added, «After 14 years of Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) rule, people may have wanted change. That is understandable and logical. But the grim consequences of this movement in power will soon become apparent.»
Turnout reached 69 %, the highest this century, with more than 4.4 million people casting their ballots, according to Rasa Nedeljkov, head of the CRTA Election Observation Mission.
«This is by all means a historic victory and indeed a surprise to many. While it was clear from the beginning that the students will have an impressive result, very few expected a landslide,» Helena Ivanov, associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.
The Election Observation Mission reported that the Student List won 52.45 % of the vote and is projected to hold 138 of 250 seats in the National Assembly, an absolute majority, allowing it to form a government on its own.
Vucic won 39.2 % and is projected to hold 103 seats.
Supporters celebrated throughout Belgrade and across Serbia as it became clear the Student List won by a larger margin that caught many experts and observers by surprise.
Many claimed they were concerned about the possibility of violence escalating as polls began to close. Almost two hours after polling stations closed, Vucic addressed the nation, confirming his defeat and announcing the peaceful transfer of power.
FRANCE ROCKED BY STUDENT RIOTS AS HUNDREDS ARRESTED, VIOLENCE SPREADS NATIONWIDE
Students walk on the road towards the northern city of Novi Sad, where they will participate in a 24 hour block of three bridges to protest the deaths of 15 people killed in the November collapse of a train station canopy, near the Belgrade suburb of Batajnica, Serbia, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
«The path to an electoral victory with such a decisive margin will undoubtedly earn its own chapter in the handbooks on how to topple an autocrat. Two years of unprecedented grassroots mobilization, creative organization and impeccable campaigning kept the student list two steps ahead of the regime. Vučić was left playing catch-up, and all his attempts to co-opt, demoralize and fragment the movement failed,» Sinisa Vukovic, director of the Global Policy Program at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, told Fox News Digital.
The CRTA Election Observation Mission reported that the campaign was marked by the abuse of state resources, pressure on candidates and voters, attempts to bring the media under total government control, and attacks on independent election observers.
Tens of thousands of Serbians volunteered to run and monitor polling stations across the country, and the vote was mostly peaceful.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) meets with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 23, 2025. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) ((Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/POOL/AFP via Getty Images))
SERBIA, CAUGHT BETWEEN EUROPE AND RUSSIA, COULD MOVE ONE STEP CLOSER TO NORMALIZING RELATIONS WITH KOSOVO
Student led protests marched in the streets for two years after the deaths of 16 people following the collapse of a railway station in the town of Novi Sad in November 2024. People had taken to the streets, demanding justice for those killed and accountability for anyone responsible for the disaster.
The momentum of nearly two years of street demonstrations culminated in a nationwide movement ready for change. The political novices were able to rally the nation behind a simple message against corruption and state capture.
Serbs across the country embraced the Student List, who are viewed as fresh faces in politics and are not tied to Serbia’s traditional political opposition, which is perceived as ineffective and corrupt by a lot of the voters.
Ilija Srdanovic, first on the electoral list «Student List – Students Win» waves to citizens as they welcome students who walked to the capital from different parts of the country a day before their final campaign rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Oct. 21, 2026. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
EXCLUSIVE: SERBIAN PRESIDENT VUČIĆ SAYS SUPPORT FOR US ‘SURGED’ UNDER TRUMP, INVITES HIM TO VISIT BELGRADE
Milos Jevtic, a 48-year-old professor with the Faculty of Organizational Sciences at the University of Belgrade, was among the many Student List candidates who won a seat in parliament.
Jevtic told Fox News Digital that their victory came from the values that the students have stood for from the very beginning: expertise, professionalism, responsibility, solidarity and unity.
«What is particularly important is that the students have never compromised on these values and principles. Of course, widespread public dissatisfaction also played a major role, along with a lack of trust in both the current regime and the opposition parties,» Jevtic explained.
Jevtic said he believes the priorities for the new Student List-run government should be economic stability, fighting corruption, establishing the rule of law and strengthening institutions, much of what carried the student-led protests since 2024.
People walk on a bridge with a huge poster of Serbia’s former President and the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) candidate for prime minister Aleksandar Vucic on it, in Nis, Serbia, Oct. 10, 2026. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
«The ultimate goal is to build a system in which institutions function in the interests of all citizens,» Jevtic said.
On foreign policy, there is an expectation that there will be a certain degree of continuity with the Vucic administration in international relations, including maintaining good relations with neighboring European countries and all major international partners.
But Brnabic warned that «Serbia has lost meaningful political pluralism. After 35 years of a multiparty system, the country is effectively left with one established political party, SNS, while the rest of the political scene is dominated by largely unknown movements without a clear ideology. This is catastrophic for any parliamentary democracy.»
She added, «Secondly, nobody in Serbia knows where the country is heading. Are we firmly pro-EU? Will we maintain our ties with Russia? What about China? Will we continue to enhance our relations with the United States — which was a priority of Aleksandar Vucic? Will economic policy be more left-liberal or conservative? Are we heading towards a woke liberal society, or will we preserve our traditional Orthodox Christian values? There are no clear answers to any of these questions.»
She concluded by noting, «We have also called for Parliament and all state institutions to be constituted as soon as possible, so that the country has functioning institutions on which people can rely. We will be a strong but constructive opposition. We call on the Student List’s representatives to end the intimidation and assume the responsibility entrusted to them by the voters.»
the balkans, world elections, world protests, the european union
INTERNACIONAL
Russian diesel tankers close in on US ports as Trump, Putin deal triggers legal showdown
As three tankers carrying Russian diesel are crossing the Atlantic toward U.S. ports, with a fourth set to depart soon, President Donald Trump’s fuel deal with Moscow is drawing opposition in Congress and threats to investigate companies involved in the shipments.
A former Treasury Department sanction official confirmed to Digital that Trump has the legal authority to allow the imports despite a 2022 law banning Russian energy products, arguing that Washington’s authorization does not eliminate the underlying prohibition.
«The concern that the president has violated a law from 2022 that prohibits the importation is actually not founded in law, so the president certainly has the authority in this case to provide the authorization,» Jeremy Paner, a partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, told Digital.
TRUMP TRIES DIFFERENT APPROACH WITH RUSSIA TO BRING AMERICANS RELIEF AMID ONGOING WAR WITH UKRAINE
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak also confirmed the tanker movements Tuesday on the sidelines of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GEC) summit, saying a fourth vessel was expected to depart Russia Oct. 28.
«There are three ships at the moment. The fourth has not yet departed,» Novak said, according to TASS.
The shipments, totaling around 140,000 metric tons, is the first authorized cargo under an Oct. 9 agreement between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin temporarily permitting imports of Russian diesel.
The administration followed the process to ease diesel prices amid supply disruptions linked to the war with Iran and Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries.
The deal triggered opposition on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers argue the administration lacks the authority to bypass the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act of 2022 without congressional approval.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also escalated opposition Tuesday, demanding that two shipping companies recall tankers carrying Russian diesel bound for U.S. ports.
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS BREAK WITH TRUMP ON DIESEL DEAL WITH RUSSIA
In letters to Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Limited and PetroVietnam, Blumenthal argued that the Treasury Department’s General License No. 135 cannot override the 2022 import ban and warned that the deliveries would violate federal law.
He also demanded details about the companies involved in the shipments and any federal guidance they received by Oct. 31.
Paner, however, drew a distinction between removing sanctions and authorizing specific transactions.
«Trump’s action did not lift or remove or waive the underlying prohibition on the importation of Russian diesel into the United States,» Paner said.
«What it did was authorize it, and, as a matter of law, that’s different. A license does not get rid of a prohibition. It’s simply allowed,» the expert added.
The incoming tankers have drawn scrutiny because at least two are subject to Western sanctions, according to reports.
The first tanker, the Malta-flagged Agioi Fanendes, is carrying about 40,000 metric tons of diesel and signaling New York as its destination, with an estimated arrival date of Nov. 7.
A second vessel, the 20-year-old Talisman, is expected to reach the East Coast on Nov. 9 and is sanctioned by the U.S., United Kingdom and the EU.
DRONE OFFENSIVE HITS RUSSIAN OIL TANKERS AND REFINERIES AT ‘INDUSTRIAL SCALE’ AS MOSCOW BANS DIESEL EXPORTS
The third tanker, the Sierra Leone-flagged, Hong Kong-owned Leruo, is signaling an East Coast arrival around Nov. 11.
The Leruo was sanctioned in 2025 by the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada over alleged deceptive shipping practices involving Russian oil and petroleum products and conducting ship-to-ship transfers at sea.
Paner said the U.S. authorization would allow the shipments to proceed under American sanctions rules, even if a vessel is separately designated under U.S. sanctions.
«From a U.S. legal perspective, U.S. sanctions do not get in the way of importing Russian diesel from these three ships, even though one of the ships is sanctioned by the United States and even though the importation of Russian diesel is prohibited by U.S. law,» Paner explained.
«Because of the breadth of the authorization that OFAC issued, it would cover anything that would touch upon Russian sanctions,» Paner said, referring to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
«From a U.S. perspective, it’s not relevant that one of these three vessels is sanctioned by the U.S.,» he added.
But Paner warned that American authorization would not automatically protect foreign companies operating under other countries’ sanctions regimes.
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS BREAK WITH TRUMP ON DIESEL DEAL WITH RUSSIA
«Where it gets complicated is the EU, U.K. and Canadian sanctions on some of the vessels, and that is because there are so many different players in the maritime industry, including shippers, insurers, re-insurers and banks,» Paner said.
«There could be European operators involved, and the U.S. authorization would not authorize those European, U.K. or Canadian companies to have any involvement in these shipments.»
The complications could explain why sanctioned vessels are being used for the deliveries, according to Paner.
«Sanctioned vessels would be used because of the reputational and legal risk exposure from moving Russian diesel,» he said.
«Even if it’s blessed by the U.S., there are other sanctions out there that these big global logistics companies and shipping companies have to keep in mind as well.»
He also cautioned that vessel ownership could complicate efforts to determine which sanctions apply.
«I don’t know who owns them currently. I don’t know if the same entity identified by the various sanctioning authorities owns them now.»
The shipments underscore a shift in Washington’s approach to Russian energy restrictions imposed after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, when the United States banned Russian petroleum imports and imposed price caps on Russian oil and refined products.
TRUMP SAYS RUSSIA HAS AGREED TO DELIVER MILLIONS IN DIESEL FUEL AFTER ‘HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL DISCUSSION’
Under the deal, Washington authorized certain Russian diesel imports in exchange for Moscow releasing 300,000 metric tons to global markets, rising to 500,000 in November and potentially 1 million per month after.
Novak also criticized lawmakers opposing the arrangement, accusing them of acting against the interests of American consumers.
«Overall, it is certainly surprising to see the stance taken by Democrats, who speak out — or even take action — in a way that is not in the best interests of the residents of the United States of America,» Novak said.
In an October letter to commercial banks, fuel distributors and port authorities in New York, New Jersey and along the Texas Gulf Coast, lawmakers also warned that companies involved in the diesel shipments could face investigations.
They also demanded that companies preserve transaction records, port reservations and communications, giving recipients until Oct. 28 to confirm they had taken steps to retain the documents.
«I’m confident that Congress is going to investigate on the U.S. side, and then from investigating the U.S. involvement, they’ll be able to understand the non-U.S. companies that are involved as well,» Paner concluded.
politics, donald trump, russia, vladimir putin, foreign affairs, foreign policy, sanctions, international law
En medio de las versiones sobre una posible fuga de Flávio Bolsonaro de Brasil hacia la Argentina, surgió el nombre de Leonardo Rodrigues de Jesus, más conocido como Léo Índio, sobrino político del expresidente Jair Bolsonaro y primo del senador brasileño.
Léo Índio está refugiado en Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, donde también viven más de 100 simpatizantes del exmandatario que abandonaron Brasil por causas judiciales vinculadas con el intento de golpe de Estado de enero de 2023.
El concejal de Puerto Iguazú Alejandro Verón planteó que la presencia de Léo Índio en la ciudad podría haber generado una confusión con Flávio Bolsonaro, sobre quien circulan versiones de que habría intentado cruzar la frontera para abordar un avión privado rumbo a Estados Unidos.
“Puede ser una confusión. Hay un familiar de Bolsonaro alojado en Iguazú”, explicó Verón durante una entrevista en Radio Rivadavia. El funcionario precisó que se trata del sobrino del exmandatario, que permanece en una hostería de la ciudad misionera.
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Serbia’s student movement topples Vucic’s party after 14 years, but political agenda remains unclear
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