The Justice Department has charged two former FBI employees with making false statements to Congress in connection with the bureau’s investigations into Hunter Biden.
Bradley Benavides, 56, and Nikki Floris, 46, each face a single criminal count stemming from testimony before lawmakers in 2023. They were charged by complaint, which means prosecutors have yet to secure an indictment from a grand jury.
The Charges
In a statement on X, US Attorney for Washington, DC, Jeanine Pirro, said Floris and Benavides “allegedly lied to Congress about their roles in the FBI’s Hunter Biden investigations, with one claiming they only learned about it from Wikipedia — despite evidence showing their involvement in helping shape the public narrative about Hunter Biden’s laptop right before the election.”
Benavides and Floris appeared in federal court in Washington on Friday morning before Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui. Faruqui noted that both defendants have “sparkling backgrounds” in federal law enforcement and were longtime dedicated public servants. He also noted that charging them by criminal complaint for conduct that is “quite old” is unusual.
The Background
Hunter Biden’s laptop was the subject of intense scrutiny after The New York Post reported weeks before the 2020 presidential election that the device was abandoned at a Delaware repair shop in 2019 and then obtained by Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former personal lawyer.
Republicans have long accused the FBI of mishandling the laptop and the investigations into the younger Biden. Hunter Biden was convicted of federal gun charges and later pleaded guilty to separate tax offenses.
House Republicans subsequently launched an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, focusing on Hunter Biden’s business dealings at the time his father was vice president. But no evidence has ever been presented that Joe Biden financially gained from his son’s business activities.
The Pardon
President Joe Biden signed a full and unconditional pardon for his son in December 2024, shortly before leaving the White House.
Benavides and Floris are due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday.
The Bottom Line
The Justice Department has charged two former FBI employees, Bradley Benavides and Nikki Floris, with lying to Congress about their roles in the Hunter Biden investigations. Both appeared in court Friday, where a judge noted the charges are unusual given their long careers and the age of the conduct. The case stems from the long-running Republican scrutiny of the FBI’s handling of Hunter Biden’s laptop and the investigation into the Biden family.
My Opinion
For years, Republicans insisted the FBI had corrupted itself to protect Hunter Biden. They held hearings. They launched an impeachment inquiry. They told voters that the bureau was part of a deep-state conspiracy. Now the Justice Department has charged two former FBI employees with lying to Congress about the investigation. And the judge (a Trump appointee, mind you) called the charges unusual, noted their “sparkling backgrounds,” and questioned why prosecutors were pursuing conduct that is “quite old.”
That should give everyone pause. Either these two agents lied under oath, or they are being prosecuted to settle a political score. The complaint, not an indictment, suggests prosecutors are still building their case. The timing, three weeks before the midterms, suggests something else entirely.
The Hunter Biden laptop story has been weaponized for years. It was used to damage Joe Biden’s campaign, to justify an impeachment inquiry, and to convince millions of Americans that the FBI was corrupt. Now it is being used to prosecute the agents who investigated it. That is not justice. That is a loop. And the American people deserve better than a system that keeps chasing its own tail while the real issues — inflation, war, the economy — go unaddressed.
