Two Former FBI Officials Charged With Lying to Congress About Hunter Biden's Laptop

Two former senior FBI officials face federal criminal charges after allegedly lying to Congress about their knowledge of Hunter Biden's laptop and related investigations ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors say Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides denied involvement in matters that FBI emails, internal records, and witness accounts show they discussed while serving on the bureau's Foreign Influence Task Force.

Floris, 46, and Benavides, 56, surrendered to authorities on October 23, 2026, and appeared in federal court in Washington, D.C. Each faces one count of making materially false statements to Congress, an offense carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Floris, a former deputy assistant director who led the task force, told House Judiciary Committee investigators on July 19, 2023, that she had not participated in the Hunter Biden investigation. She also denied taking part in discussions about Biden within the unit, which was responsible for identifying foreign interference in U.S. elections.

Internal messages and witness accounts cited in a 27-page FBI affidavit allegedly contradict her testimony. Investigators say Floris communicated regularly with agents handling the Biden inquiries, attended briefings and exchanged updates about their work. An FBI official interviewed in October 2026 confirmed that she routinely discussed the investigations with personnel involved in the cases.

Benavides, who served as the task force's section chief during the 2020 election, told congressional investigators on September 28, 2023, that he learned the FBI possessed Hunter Biden's laptop from a Wikipedia article he consulted while preparing for his testimony.

Federal records place him in discussions about the laptop nearly three years earlier. On October 14, 2020, the day the New York Post published its first story about the computer, Benavides and Floris received FBI emails concerning the laptop and the bureau's response to press and congressional inquiries.

That same day, a colleague asked Benavides whether the task force was tracking news coverage of the laptop. He replied that he had spoken with an FBI Criminal Division official about the matter. Prosecutors cite those communications as evidence that his account to Congress was false.

An FBI official also told investigators that he personally discussed the laptop with Benavides during an October 2020 meeting. According to the affidavit, the official confirmed that the bureau had obtained the computer's contents from a Delaware repair shop in December 2019 and that the material related to its Hunter Biden investigations.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui questioned prosecutors during the defendants' October 23 court appearance about bringing the years-old allegations through criminal complaints before obtaining grand jury indictments. He also raised questions about whether the disputed statements were material to the congressional investigation, an element prosecutors must establish to secure a conviction.

Faruqui scheduled a preliminary hearing for October 27, rejecting prosecutors' request for additional time. Unless a grand jury returns an indictment first, the government may have to present evidence establishing probable cause to support the charges.

Defense attorneys challenged the prosecution and its timing. Floris' lawyers described the case as politically motivated and disputed the government's account of her congressional testimony, while pointing to her nearly two decades of FBI service.

Ron Safer, an attorney representing Benavides, also questioned why the Justice Department waited more than three years to pursue the allegations and sought an early opportunity to challenge the government's evidence.

The affidavit separately identifies both defendants as having reviewed and approved a September 2020 report connected to Round River, an FBI counterintelligence initiative examining information about Hunter Biden and potential Russian disinformation. Prosecutors cite their participation and communications with investigative teams as evidence of their knowledge of the bureau's activities.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro defended the charges, arguing that false statements by senior law enforcement officials undermine congressional oversight. FBI Director Kash Patel also linked the prosecution to his review of the bureau's previous investigative practices, including the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was dissolved in 2025.

The laptop became a central controversy during the final weeks of the 2020 presidential campaign, as federal investigators examined Hunter Biden's business dealings and questions emerged about possible foreign influence. Congressional investigators later sought to determine what role the task force played in the FBI's handling of those matters.

The charges, filed less than two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, concern the former officials' statements to Congress. Both are scheduled to return to court on October 27 for the preliminary hearing.