Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides Face Perjury Charges Over Laptop Testimony

Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, two former senior figures in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, were indicted on Friday for allegedly lying to Congress about the bureau's handling of the Hunter Biden laptop investigation. The Justice Department announced the charges against Floris, who formerly led the intelligence division in the Washington field office, and Benavides, a former deputy assistant director for counterintelligence. Both men appeared before a federal magistrate judge and were released the same morning.

Prosecutors claim the pair intentionally withheld information during their 2023 testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. If convicted on the counts of making false statements, each defendant faces a maximum prison sentence of five years. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who is leading the prosecution, stated that the officials undermined the institutions they served. She described the act of lying to Congress as a strike against the democratic system, adding that it was time to bring the hammer of justice down on agents who believed they were above the law.

The affidavit filed by the FBI details the alleged discrepancies in Floris's account. She testified that she had no involvement in the Hunter Biden probes, yet the document says she maintained frequent communication with the case team for more than a year. She also stated she knew nothing about the laptop, even though she coordinated the bureau's real-time response to media reports about it. Benavides testified months later that he had learned about the device from a Wikipedia entry while preparing for his session. The affidavit counters this by stating he was in constant communication about the laptop over several days.

A member of the House Judiciary Committee said the misleading answers influenced the investigation by thwarting follow-up interviews and subpoenas. Defense lawyers for Floris rejected the charges, arguing the case rests on the say-so of politicians rather than facts. They described her as a patriot who served as an FBI intelligence officer for nearly 20 years and noted the timing of the filing on the eve of an election. Ron Safer, attorney for Benavides, asked the court to hold a hearing to determine if there was sufficient evidence against two lifetime public servants.

US Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui granted the defense's request for a hearing to weigh the government's evidence, scheduling it for Tuesday. He noted that such a rapid timeline is rare for defendants who have been released. Faruqui expressed concern that the charges were filed more than three years after the original testimony. He acknowledged that both defendants had sparkling backgrounds in law enforcement and an interest in clearing their names quickly, describing the pending case as a Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

The laptop at the center of the legal dispute was handed to the FBI in 2019 after a computer shop owner said Hunter Biden dropped it off and never returned. The owner told the Washington Post he turned the device over to authorities after viewing some of its contents. The case arrives as many FBI agents have been pushed out of the bureau since the start of President Donald Trump's second term. Some of those agents claim they were dismissed for working on investigations involving Trump or for not showing enough loyalty.

The indictment marks a formal step in a dispute that has become a partisan flashpoint. Republicans argue the device holds evidence of corruption in the Biden family, while Democrats describe it as part of a Republican conspiracy. The upcoming hearing will determine whether the government's evidence is strong enough to proceed to trial.