DOJ Charges Two Former FBI Officials With Lying to Congress About Hunter Biden Laptop Probe

The Justice Department charged two former senior FBI officials on Friday with making false statements to Congress about their roles in the bureau's investigation into Hunter Biden and his laptop. Nikki Floris, 46, a former intelligence analyst who led the intelligence division at the FBI's Washington Field Office, and Bradley Benavides, 56, a former deputy assistant director for counterintelligence, each face one count of lying to Congress under the federal false-statements law. The charges stem from testimony both gave to House Judiciary Committee investigators in 2023.

Floris and Benavides were members of the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force during the 2020 presidential election, and prosecutors allege they misrepresented their oversight roles in the Hunter Biden investigations. The pair surrendered on arrest warrants Friday morning, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. A criminal complaint, rather than a grand jury indictment, was used to bring the charges, meaning prosecutors have not yet secured an indictment.

Attorneys for Floris called the charges politically motivated, accusing the Trump administration of deliberately filing them just ahead of the midterm election. The New York Times noted that the case is part of a broader effort by the current administration to pursue law enforcement and intelligence officials who it contends cast doubt on unsubstantiated claims that former President Joe Biden engaged in corrupt dealings in Ukraine.