Former FBI officials charged in connection with Hunter Biden laptop probe

What the report says

Two former FBI officials, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, have been charged in Washington, DC, over statements linked to the FBI’s 2020 handling of the Hunter Biden laptop matter, according to Al Jazeera and The Associated Press. Prosecutors allege the pair lied to Congress about whether the FBI’s Foreign Intelligence Task Force was involved in the investigation. They made their first court appearance on Friday.

Lawyers for the former agents rejected the case and argued that the Justice Department was bringing the charges at a politically sensitive moment ahead of the November 3 midterm election. Floris’ attorney said she had spent nearly two decades as an FBI intelligence officer and accused prosecutors of relying on politics rather than facts. The defense also said the case was being revived years after the events in question.

Al Jazeera reported that Floris and Benavides led the task force when the laptop was discovered and later told Congress it was not part of the probe. Federal prosecutors, however, say internal messages from the same period conflict with those claims. The unit was originally created during Donald Trump’s first term and was later disbanded after he returned to office in January 2025.

The case adds a new chapter to the long-running controversy over Hunter Biden’s laptop, which surfaced in October 2020 and became a major issue in that year’s election. The report notes that the FBI later authenticated the device and its contents, while broader allegations tied to Biden’s business dealings were not substantiated.