DOJ says former FBI officials lied to Congress about Hunter Biden probe
Two former FBI officials have been charged with lying to Congress over the agency’s investigation of Hunter Biden, the Trump administration announced Friday, unveiling its latest high-profile case in the weeks ahead of the midterm elections.
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The complaint alleges that Nicole Floris and Bradley Benavides lied to Congress on two occasions in 2023. The pair worked for the FBI’s now-shuttered Foreign Influence Task Force and made initial court appearances Friday in Washington, D.C.
The charge for each could carry up to five years in prison, but a grand jury would need to approve an indictment.
The case centers on what the pair told the House Judiciary Committee about the FBI’s probes into then-candidate Joe Biden’s second son in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential race, including how much they knew about an infamous laptop that was left at a Delaware computer repair shop, according to a statement of facts filed along with the case.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro trumpeted the charges Friday.
“When senior FBI agents lie to Congress believing they are above the law, it’s time to bring the hammer of justice down on them,” she wrote on social media.
In a Justice Department press release, both Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel portrayed the case as pushing back on what they described as a “weaponization” of government under the prior administration.
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A judge set a preliminary hearing for the pair for Tuesday. Representatives for the defendants could not be immediately reached for comment.
Senate Judiciary Chair Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, praised the charges in a statement and said that ahead of the 2020 election, Floris and Benavides had falsely sought to portray as forwarding Russian disinformation an investigation he led into the Biden family.
“Today we’re seeing accountability efforts in action,” Grassley’s statement said.
The complaint comes days after the Trump administration faced criticism for executing a search warrant on the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as the November midterms approach. A Justice Department manual states that investigators should not take steps “for the purpose” of affecting an election.
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