Two former FBI intelligence officials who specialized in foreign election interference were charged Friday with making false statements to Congress about their knowledge of the bureau’s investigations involving Hunter Biden and his laptop before the 2020 presidential election.

Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides surrendered to authorities and made their initial appearances in federal court in Washington. Their attorneys pushed for a speedy hearing to challenge the allegations. The Justice Department alleges that both officials misrepresented the role of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, or FITF, in matters involving Biden and concealed what they knew about the laptop.

Floris’ attorneys defended her nearly 20 years of service as an FBI intelligence officer, calling her a patriot and accusing the Justice Department of bringing politically motivated charges without factual support. They also questioned the timing of the prosecution, which comes less than two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement posted on X that senior officials who lie to Congress undermine the legal system and should be held accountable. The case marks an unusual criminal prosecution of former FBI personnel and comes amid broader efforts by the bureau to revisit controversial episodes from its recent history.

The allegations center on the final weeks of the 2020 presidential campaign, when the New York Post published material from a laptop it said belonged to Hunter Biden, the son of then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. The hard drive reportedly contained emails appearing to document discussions of Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings.

The laptop’s origins and contents became a major political controversy. Democrats and former intelligence officials raised concerns that the material could be part of a Russian disinformation operation, amid intelligence assessments that Moscow was attempting to interfere in the election. Joe Biden ultimately defeated President Donald Trump.

Prosecutors allege Floris testified falsely that the foreign-influence task force did not discuss Hunter Biden while she led the unit. According to the complaint, contemporaneous communications show task force officials regularly discussed investigations involving Biden for more than a year.

Benavides allegedly told congressional investigators that he first learned the FBI possessed the laptop in 2023 through Wikipedia. Prosecutors contend records show he discussed the laptop with other FBI officials before the 2020 election.

The FITF was established during Trump’s first administration to counter foreign influence operations by Russia and other countries. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi disbanded the unit in February 2025, saying its responsibilities should be reassigned and its resources redirected.

The prosecution comes amid other high-profile Justice Department actions involving political figures in the weeks before the midterms, including a search of the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as part of an immigration fraud investigation and a corruption indictment against Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a prominent Democrat. The timing of the cases has drawn attention because the Justice Department has historically sought to avoid overt investigative actions near elections when they could influence the political process.