Former FBI officials charged with lying to Congress on Hunter Biden laptop

The Department of Justice has charged two former FBI officials with making false statements to Congress regarding the agency's investigation into Hunter Biden's laptop. Nikki Floris, a former analyst who led the FBI's Washington field office intelligence division, and Bradley Benavides, a former deputy assistant director for counterintelligence, were indicted on Friday for allegedly concealing their involvement in the 2023 probes.

The charges allege that Floris and Benavides misled the House Judiciary Committee by denying their knowledge of the case, despite being in frequent communication with the investigation team. An FBI affidavit states that Floris coordinated the FBI's response to news coverage of the laptop in real time, while Benavides maintained constant contact about the device for several days, contradicting his testimony that he learned of it from a Wikipedia entry.

Both defendants face up to five years in prison if found guilty and were released on Friday after a brief court appearance. US Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui questioned the timing of the charges, noting they were filed over three years after the original testimony, and granted a defense request for an evidentiary hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

Read the full story at The Jerusalem Post.