2 ex-FBI officials charged with lying to Congress on Biden laptop
What's new: Prosecutors used a criminal complaint 10 days before the Nov. 3 election, an uncommon step defense lawyers challenged in court.
Two former FBI intelligence officials were charged Friday with making false statements to Congress about their roles in the Hunter Biden laptop investigation before the 2020 election. Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides surrendered and appeared in federal court in Washington, where their lawyers pushed for a speedy hearing to fight the allegations. Prosecutors say the pair lied in 2023 about whether a foreign-influence task force was involved in Biden-related inquiries and about their knowledge of the laptop. The case revives a politically fraught episode from the final stretch of the 2020 campaign and comes as FBI Director Kash Patel revisits controversies that have long energized President Donald Trump's supporters.