Former FBI officials charged over Hunter Biden laptop testimony

Bradley Benavides told congressional investigators he learned about the Hunter Biden laptop investigation from Wikipedia, prosecutors say. The Justice Department now says that answer was false, and that Benavides had known about the matter while serving in a senior FBI role.

Benavides, 56, and Nikki Floris, 46, were each charged Friday with one count of making false statements to Congress. Both appeared in federal court in Washington after surrendering on Friday. The allegations stem from separate interviews with the House Judiciary Committee in 2023, concerning FBI investigations involving Hunter Biden and his laptop during the 2020 election period.

What prosecutors allege: The criminal complaint says Floris and Benavides held senior roles in the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force and had real-time knowledge of, and involvement in, Hunter Biden-related investigations. The complaint says task force staff hosted classified briefings for agents and prosecutors working on the Hunter Biden case, with both officials participating.

Floris allegedly denied having any involvement when asked by congressional investigators about the Hunter Biden investigation. Benavides allegedly said he had no knowledge of the laptop matter while at the FBI, after saying he learned details while preparing to testify from a Wikipedia page. Prosecutors say contemporaneous documents and witness accounts contradict both accounts.

The catch: This is a criminal complaint, not a grand jury indictment. That means prosecutors have charged the pair but have not secured an indictment from a federal grand jury. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said Friday that bringing a complaint over conduct from years earlier appeared unusual, and rejected a prosecution request to delay a preliminary hearing for two weeks or more.

What they're saying: Floris's lawyers called the charge false and politically motivated, describing her as a longtime FBI intelligence officer and saying the case was filed on the eve of an election. Benavides's lawyer, Ronald S. Safer, called the case baseless and said his client spent about 20 years protecting the public and U.S. democracy.

The charges were announced less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm election, and Floris and Benavides are due back in court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.