Trump Justice Department Charges Two Former FBI Officials Over Hunter Biden Testimony
Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides face false-statement charges over 2023 congressional testimony; both deny wrongdoing, and no grand jury has indicted them.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department charged two former FBI intelligence officials on Friday, October 23, 2026, with making false statements to Congress about their work connected to investigations of Hunter Biden. Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides deny the allegations, and the charges have not been tested at trial.
Floris and Benavides once led the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, which examined attempts by foreign governments to interfere in U.S. elections. According to the criminal complaint described by the Justice Department and independent reports from the Associated Press and Reuters, prosecutors allege that both officials understated their involvement in or knowledge of FBI work concerning Hunter Biden during congressional testimony in 2023.
What prosecutors allege
The complaint accuses Benavides of falsely telling lawmakers that he learned through Wikipedia that the FBI possessed a laptop attributed to Hunter Biden. It alleges that Floris falsely said she did not know Hunter Biden had been discussed by the task force. Prosecutors contend that both officials had more direct knowledge through their leadership roles.
Those assertions are allegations, not established facts. The case was initiated by criminal complaint rather than an indictment, meaning prosecutors had not yet presented the charges to a grand jury as of Friday. A conviction would require the government to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that each disputed statement was materially false and knowingly made.
Both defendants reject the charges
Lawyers for Floris called her a patriot who served as an FBI intelligence officer for nearly two decades. They said the government had accused her falsely and argued that the timing, less than two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, was political. Attorneys for Benavides likewise called the complaint baseless and politically motivated, saying he had devoted his career to protecting the country.
At an initial appearance in federal court in Washington, defense lawyers sought a prompt hearing. U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui set a preliminary hearing for Tuesday, October 27. AP reported that the judge noted the unusual use of a complaint for allegations concerning statements made years earlier. The government will have to establish probable cause at the preliminary stage unless a grand jury returns an indictment first.
A case tied to a long-running political dispute
The allegations reopen a dispute over the FBI’s handling of material from a laptop publicized shortly before the 2020 presidential election. The complaint says the former officials’ task force repeatedly dealt with Hunter Biden-related matters. Congressional Republicans have long argued that the bureau was not sufficiently forthcoming about the material, while concerns about possible foreign influence shaped the FBI’s approach during that election period.
FBI Director Kash Patel said that lying to Congress by senior bureau officials would strike at the heart of the legal system and that no one is above the law. Patel had criticized the FBI before Trump appointed him director, and his leadership has revisited several bureau actions that drew complaints from Trump and his allies. That political context does not decide whether Floris or Benavides committed a crime; the evidence and court proceedings will.
Why the timing matters
The filing comes close to a federal election and involves a subject central to years of partisan conflict. Justice Department practice has traditionally cautioned against overt investigative steps near elections when they could affect political contests. The defendants’ lawyers point to that timing as evidence of improper motive, while prosecutors present the matter as an accountability case involving alleged false statements to lawmakers.
The immediate development is therefore limited but significant: two former senior FBI intelligence officials now face federal charges under the Trump administration, both have appeared in court, and both contest the government’s account. No indictment, guilty plea or verdict has occurred. The preliminary hearing or a grand-jury decision will be the next material procedural step.