Former FBI officials charged in connection with Hunter Biden laptop probe
Lawyers for two accused officials say Department of Justice seeking to revive scandal in the run-up to midterm vote.
Two former FBI officials have been charged with lying to Congress in connection with the 2020 investigation into Hunter Biden's laptop, according to a report published Friday by Al Jazeera with The Associated Press.
The former officials, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, had overseen the FBI's Foreign Intelligence Task Force — the unit handling election-related foreign influence — when the laptop emerged. In a criminal complaint, federal prosecutors alleged that their statements to Congress contradicted messages they had sent during that period.
Lawyers for both officials accused the Department of Justice of filing the charges to revive the laptop saga ahead of the midterm vote, in which Democrats face an uphill battle to retain control of Congress. A lawyer for Floris said she had "served our nation as a dedicated FBI intelligence officer," adding that the DOJ had "accused her falsely of a crime" and calling the charges "nonsense" filed "on the eve of" the midterms.
The task force was created during President Trump's first term, became a target of Republican criticism, and was disbanded when Trump returned to office in January 2025. FBI Director Kash Patel has pledged to investigate the agency's conduct during Biden's presidency, saying: "Lying to Congress by senior FBI officials strikes at the heart of our system."
The laptop's existence became public in October 2020, weeks before the Biden-Trump election, after it was apparently abandoned at a Delaware computer repair shop. Several former intelligence officials warned it bore the hallmarks of a Russian disinformation operation; it was later used to support federal gun and tax charges against Hunter Biden.
The report notes the DOJ has traditionally avoided overt investigative steps close to elections, but says officials have taken several high-profile actions in recent weeks — including unsealing a corruption indictment on Thursday against Virginia state Senator Louise Lucas, a powerful Democrat.
Source: Al Jazeera English — TrendWire reports stories in its own words; facts should be confirmed against the original source.