Full Breakdown
Former FBI Officials Charged with Lying to Congress Over Hunter Biden Laptop Probe
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
On October 23, 2026, a federal criminal complaint was unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia charging two former senior FBI officials—Nikki Floris, a former intelligence analyst in the Washington Field Office, and Bradley Benavides, a former deputy assistant director in the Counterintelligence Division—with one count each of making false statements to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023. The alleged false statements concerned their awareness of the FBI’s involvement in investigations of Hunter Biden’s laptop and the bureau’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) during the 2020 election. Both defendants appeared in court, were released without detention, and face a scheduled hearing on the following Tuesday morning.
Background & Context
The charges stem from testimony given to Congress in 2023 as Republicans probed whether the FBI’s election-interference task force had minimized allegations of corruption involving the Biden family. The FITF, dissolved in 2022, was the unit under which Floris served as Deputy Assistant Director (mid-2019 through mid-2022) and Benavides as Section Chief (mid-2019 through the 2020 election). The investigation of Hunter Biden’s laptop had previously resulted in separate tax and gun convictions for the son, later pardoned by President Joe Biden in late 2024.
Official Statements & Responses
- Jeanine Pirro, U.S.
- Kash Patel, FBI Director, said the charges arise from an investigation into the now-defunct FITF and asserted that documentary evidence and witness accounts contradict the agents’ testimony.
- Defense attorneys for Floris described the indictment as “politically motivated,” claiming the government is using the case to push a false narrative ahead of the midterm election.
- Ron Safer, attorney for Benavides, argued that the alleged conduct occurred years ago and questioned whether probable cause exists.
Data & Statistics
- Each former official is charged with one count of making a false statement to Congress.
- Floris allegedly made the false statement on July 19, 2023; Benavides’ alleged false statement was given later in 2023.
- The magistrate judge, Zia Faruqui, noted the charge is “rare” and that the case was brought by complaint rather than a grand jury.
Verbatim Quote
“The alleged conduct happened years ago. The government has had the information about this for years,” — Ron Safer, an attorney for Benavides