Hunter Biden Laptop: 2 Ex-FBI Officials Charged Over Testimony

What happened

Two former FBI officials who helped run the bureau’s election-interference unit were charged on Friday, Oct. 23, with lying to Congress about the Hunter Biden laptop. The two, Nikki Floris, 46, and Bradley Benavides, 56, turned themselves in and appeared in federal court in Washington that morning, NPR reported.

Each faces a single count of making false statements to Congress. Prosecutors say both minimized what they knew about the FBI’s Hunter Biden investigations when House Judiciary Committee staff questioned them in 2023. Both deny wrongdoing, and neither has been convicted of anything.

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, announced the case on X. She said the evidence shows the two helped shape the public story about the laptop shortly before the 2020 election, CBS News reported.

What prosecutors allege

According to the complaint, as described by the Associated Press:

• Benavides allegedly told congressional investigators that Wikipedia was how he learned the bureau had the laptop.
• Floris allegedly said she didn’t know of Hunter Biden being discussed within the task force.

Prosecutors say both actually had real-time knowledge of the investigations, and that messages from the period contradict their accounts, according to NPR and Al Jazeera. They argue the answers mattered because they let the two avoid further questions, which hampered the committee’s inquiry.

Who says what

The defense. Floris’ lawyers described her as a patriot who spent nearly 20 years as an FBI intelligence officer, and said she was accused on politicians’ word rather than evidence. Benavides’ lawyers called the case baseless, politically motivated and “a disgrace,” AP reported. Both teams said the timing, days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, shows the purpose of the charges.

The FBI. Director Kash Patel wrote on X that senior FBI officials lying to Congress “strikes at the heart of our system.”

The judge. U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui noted that both defendants have strong law enforcement records and said it is unusual to charge years-old conduct by complaint, NPR and AP reported. Complaints are usually used when prosecutors need to detain someone quickly.

Complaint vs. indictment: why it matters

A federal felony normally has to be brought to trial by a grand jury indictment. This case started with a criminal complaint, a sworn statement that a judge reviews for probable cause. That means no grand jury has signed off yet.

Within a short window, prosecutors must either win an indictment or show at a preliminary hearing that there is enough evidence to go forward. NPR notes that grand juries in Washington and other cities have turned down several high-profile, politically charged prosecutions brought by the current administration.

How we got here

The charges land in a crowded pre-election stretch. The Justice Department usually avoids visible investigative steps close to an election, AP noted, and it pointed to a search of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home and the corruption indictment of L. Louise Lucas, a Virginia state senator. Omar has called the search an attempt to target political enemies. Lucas has said she won’t be intimidated. Uptick covered that case in our explainer on the Louise Lucas indictment.

The case is also the latest step in a long Republican push over how the FBI handled the laptop in 2020. Republicans had long called the task force politically biased and accused it of being used to keep information about the laptop from the public, Al Jazeera notes.

What happens next

Faruqui, over prosecutors’ objections, scheduled a preliminary hearing for the following Tuesday, which is Oct. 27, citing the “sword of Damocles” hanging over the defendants. Both defense teams had asked for a quick hearing.

That date falls one week before Election Day. Watch for whether prosecutors seek an indictment before the hearing, and whether a judge finds probable cause if they don’t.

Quick answers

Who are Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides?

They are former senior FBI officials who helped lead the Foreign Influence Task Force, the unit that tracked foreign attempts to interfere in U.S. elections before it was shut down in 2025.

What exactly are they charged with?

Each is charged with one count of making false statements to Congress, over answers they gave House Judiciary Committee investigators in 2023 about the Hunter Biden laptop investigations.

Have they been indicted?

No. They were charged by criminal complaint. A grand jury hasn’t voted on the case, and a preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 27.