Ex-FBI Officials Face Charges Over 2020 Briefing

Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, former leaders of the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, are scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington on Tuesday. The two former officials face charges related to their 2020 briefing for Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson.

The Justice Department announced the prosecution on Friday. It concerns statements the officials made to lawmakers in 2023. The criminal complaint accuses them of denying that they had contemporaneous knowledge of Hunter Biden's laptop or had participated in internal FBI conversations about the device.

The Foreign Influence Task Force was created during the first Trump administration. Its stated purpose was to monitor influence campaigns from Russia and other nations. Floris and Benavides led the unit. The task force was disbanded in February 2025 by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The case centers on a laptop that the Justice Department says Hunter Biden abandoned at a computer repair shop in Delaware in 2019. The New York Post reported in 2020 that it had obtained a hard drive from Rudy Giuliani, an ally of President Donald Trump. The report included emails that appeared to detail Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings.

The circumstances of the laptop's discovery drew scrutiny from Democrats and former intelligence officials. They questioned potential Russian involvement, particularly after intelligence assessments indicated Moscow was attempting to undermine Joe Biden's candidacy. John Ratcliffe, then the national intelligence director, stated there were no signs the laptop was connected to Russian actors.

Defense lawyers plan to challenge the case at Tuesday's hearing. They are expected to point to the filing method. The officials were charged via a criminal complaint signed by a magistrate judge rather than an indictment returned by a grand jury.

The prosecution marks a rare Justice Department action against a former employee. It follows investigations into Hunter Biden's business activities. Congressional Republicans have previously criticized the task force, alleging it sought to discredit their inquiries into the Biden family.

The FBI investigated Hunter Biden on gun and tax charges. Those matters resulted in felony convictions. President Joe Biden issued a pardon for his son in late 2024.

Floris and Benavides are accused of lying to Congress in 2023 about their participation in investigations involving Hunter Biden. Their lawyers have denied the allegations of wrongdoing. The case is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Washington's federal court on Tuesday.