The Justice Department has brought criminal charges against two former FBI officials accused of providing false testimony to Congress about their involvement in investigations concerning Hunter Biden and his laptop in the period leading up to the 2020 presidential election.
Bradley Benavides and Nikki Floris have each been charged with one criminal count related to statements they made to congressional lawmakers in 2023. Both previously occupied senior positions within the FBI’s now-disbanded Foreign Influence Task Force. They voluntarily surrendered to authorities and appeared for their initial court proceedings Friday morning in Washington, D.C.
The prosecution represents another politically sensitive case pursued by the Justice Department following President Donald Trump’s return to office. It has also renewed attention on the unusual controversy surrounding Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, whose legal difficulties became a recurring issue during the 2020 presidential campaign.
Hunter Biden’s laptop attracted widespread attention after The New York Post published a report shortly before the 2020 election claiming that the computer had been left at a Delaware repair business in 2019. According to the report, the device was subsequently obtained by Rudy Giuliani, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney.
Republican lawmakers have repeatedly criticized the FBI’s handling of the laptop and its investigations involving Hunter Biden. He was eventually found guilty of federal firearms offenses and later admitted guilt in a separate case involving tax violations. His father, Joe Biden, subsequently granted him a full and unconditional presidential pardon in December 2024.
In a statement published on X, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., alleged that Floris and Benavides “allegedly lied to Congress about their roles in the FBI’s Hunter Biden investigations, with one claiming they only learned about it from Wikipedia — despite evidence showing their involvement in helping shape the public narrative about Hunter Biden’s laptop right before the election.”
The allegations against Floris and Benavides were filed through a criminal complaint rather than a grand jury indictment, meaning prosecutors have not yet obtained formal charges from a grand jury. During Trump’s second administration, grand juries in Washington and several other cities have declined on multiple occasions to issue indictments in prominent cases involving politically contentious allegations.
During Friday morning’s proceedings, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui acknowledged that both former FBI officials possessed “sparkling backgrounds” in federal law enforcement and had devoted many years to public service. He also questioned the unusual decision to proceed through a criminal complaint over alleged conduct dating back several years, describing the accusations as “quite old.”
Court hearing planned next week
Benavides, 56, and Floris, 46, are scheduled to return to federal court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.
Attorneys representing Floris issued a statement defending their client, describing her as a “patriot” who had worked as a “dedicated FBI intelligence officer for nearly 20 years.”
“Yet today, the DOJ has accused her falsely of a crime on the say-so of politicians, not on the facts. It’s no coincidence the government is filing these nonsense charges now, years later, on the eve of an election,” her lawyers stated.
The New York Post previously claimed that information recovered from Hunter Biden’s laptop indicated misconduct involving Joe Biden, who was then the Democratic presidential nominee and ultimately won the 2020 election. Investigators later verified that portions of the laptop’s data belonged to Hunter Biden. House Republicans subsequently initiated an impeachment investigation into President Biden, examining his son’s business relationships during the period when Joe Biden served as vice president. However, no evidence has been presented demonstrating that Joe Biden personally received financial benefits from his son’s business dealings.
According to the criminal complaint, Benavides and Floris were aware of developments in the investigations involving Hunter Biden, including the examination of his laptop, while serving in senior leadership positions within the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force.
Prosecutors allege that both former officials nevertheless misrepresented their awareness of and participation in those investigations when questioned by the House Judiciary Committee in 2023.
The complaint maintains that the allegedly inaccurate statements were significant to the congressional inquiry because they enabled Floris and Benavides to “escape” additional questions concerning Hunter Biden. Prosecutors contend that their testimony consequently obstructed the committee’s ability to pursue its investigation.