Former FBI Leaders Return to Court on Laptop Perjury Charges

Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides face a preliminary hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. The two former FBI officials are charged with providing false statements to Congress regarding their involvement in investigations concerning Hunter Biden.

The Justice Department announced the prosecution on Friday. The case involves a laptop that federal authorities say Hunter Biden left at a computer repair shop in Delaware in 2019. Prosecutors claim Floris and Benavides minimized their awareness of the device in 2023 testimony.

Floris and Benavides led the Foreign Influence Task Force, a unit created during the first Trump administration to monitor foreign interference. The task force was disbanded in February 2025 by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. Defense attorneys describe the charges as baseless and politically motivated.

The legal team plans to challenge the procedural basis of the case at Tuesday's hearing. A magistrate judge signed the criminal complaint rather than a grand jury issuing an indictment. The Justice Department has faced difficulties securing grand jury indictments in Washington, D.C., for high-profile matters.

The laptop first gained public attention when The New York Post reported on its contents. The newspaper stated it obtained the hard drive from Rudy Giuliani, a close ally of President Donald Trump. The Post published emails that appeared to detail Hunter Biden's foreign business activities.

The discovery occurred shortly before the 2020 presidential election. Democrats and former intelligence officials raised concerns that Russian actors might have been involved in the laptop's appearance. At the time, John Ratcliffe, the national intelligence director, said there were no signs of Russian involvement. The FBI supported that assessment and later pursued gun and tax charges against Hunter Biden, which resulted in felony convictions.

In August 2020, Floris and Benavides briefed Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson. The senators were conducting their own inquiry into Hunter Biden's work in Ukraine. The briefing became public, leading the lawmakers to accuse the FBI of discrediting their investigation and linking it to Russian disinformation campaigns.

President Joe Biden pardoned his son in late 2024. The current trial marks the first criminal case the Justice Department has brought against former employees of the disbanded task force. The hearing will determine if the case proceeds to trial ahead of the midterm elections next week.