Courts & Justice · Report · File No. 261027-727
Ex-FBI officials charged over Hunter Biden laptop probe return to court
Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, charged with lying to Congress, face a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Washington. The case tests a politically charged Justice Department prosecution days before the midterms.
11 of 14 paragraphs and bullets link directly to a source. The sources are listed at the bottom. How we work
Two former FBI officials charged with lying to Congress about their work on investigations involving Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, are due back in court Tuesday in Washington's federal court 1. The prosecution of Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, announced Friday, is the latest in a series of politically charged investigative actions the Justice Department has undertaken in the run-up to next week's midterm elections 1.
The case accuses the former officials of falsely playing down their knowledge about a laptop the Justice Department says Hunter Biden abandoned at a computer repair shop in 2019 1. Their lawyers have described the case as baseless and politically motivated and have denied any allegations of wrongdoing 1.
What the defense will argue
Defense lawyers are expected to challenge the case at a preliminary hearing Tuesday, including by highlighting that the ex-FBI officials were charged via a criminal complaint signed by a magistrate judge rather than an indictment voted on by a grand jury 1. The Justice Department is thought to have repeatedly struggled in high-profile cases to persuade grand juries in the nation's capital to return indictments 1.
The prosecution, a rare Justice Department criminal case against a former employee, revisits a saga that roiled the final weeks of the 2020 race after the New York Post revealed the existence of a laptop it said had been dropped off by the younger Biden at a Delaware computer repair shop about a year earlier 1. The Post said it had obtained a hard drive of the laptop from Rudy Giuliani, a close ally of President Donald Trump, and reported on some of the contents, including emails that appeared to show some of Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings 1.
From Channel GOPFBI on 2020 Election Fraud EvidenceSenator Welch / Director Patel · 155 plays · captioned, with the source named
The task force at the center
Floris and Benavides were leaders of the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was established in the first Trump administration to police influence campaigns staged by Russia and other nations aimed at sowing discord, undermining democracy and spreading disinformation 1. In that capacity, the FBI officials briefed Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson in August 2020 as the lawmakers were doing their own investigation into Hunter Biden's work in Ukraine 1. News of the briefing leaked, and the senators lashed out at the FBI, saying their efforts to scrutinize the Biden family had been discredited and falsely linked to Russian disinformation 1.
The criminal complaint accuses them of lying to lawmakers in 2023 by denying contemporaneous knowledge of the Biden laptop or participating in internal FBI conversations about it 1. The task force was disbanded in February 2025 by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi 1.
That matters because the case is a fresh test of whether the Justice Department's politically charged prosecutions hold up in court before voters weigh in on Nov. 3 1. The pattern is one of several election-season legal moves by the department, and the outcome of Tuesday's hearing could shape how quickly the case proceeds 1.
The Record
- Hunter Biden is said to have abandoned a laptop at a Delaware computer repair shop in 2019 1.
- FBI officials briefed Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson in August 2020 on Hunter Biden's work in Ukraine 1.
- Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi disbanded the Foreign Influence Task Force in February 2025 1.
- Floris and Benavides are due back in court Tuesday in Washington's federal court 1.
Sources
- ABC News, “Ex-FBI officials due back in court in Hunter Biden laptop case” (2026-10-27). abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/fbi-officials-charged-case-hu
- KSAT, “Ex-FBI officials charged in the case about Hunter Biden's laptop are due back in court” (2026-10-27). ksat.com/gallery/news/2026/10/27/ex-fbi-officials-charged-in
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
More from the files
Two former FBI officials charged with lying to Congress over Hunter Biden laptop probe
The Justice Department charged two ex-FBI officials 11 days before the midterms. One defendant's lawyers call the case 'nonsense' and say the timing is no coincidence.
Comey charged a third time over national defense information, days before midterms
Federal prosecutors have charged former FBI Director James Comey with transmitting national defense information and conspiracy. It is the third federal case against a prominent Trump critic, and it comes eight days before the midterm election.
Comey faces a pending threat case; no new charge found
Reports of a fresh Comey charge could not be confirmed. The former FBI director's second indictment, filed in April over an Instagram photo, is still pending, and a judge ruled Monday that his daughter was illegally fired.
Delivered free to your door*
The Morning Edition
One short email at 7 a.m. Eastern: the day's top files, one clip worth your time, and the race to watch. Plain English, large type, no clutter.
*Your inbox. Free. Unsubscribe with one click, any time.