Two former FBI officials charged over Hunter Biden laptop probe
Al Jazeera
β’Fri, 23 Oct 2026 18:22:51 +0000
π° What Happened
Two former FBI officials have been charged with lying to Congress about a 2020 investigation into a laptop owned by Hunter Biden, the son of former US president Joe Biden. The former officials are Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides. They made their first court appearance in Washington on Friday.
Both had overseen the FBI unit that watches for foreign interference in US elections. They told Congress that the unit was not involved in the laptop case. Prosecutors say messages sent at the time show otherwise. Their lawyers call the charges political and badly timed.
π The Backstory
The laptop first surfaced in October 2020, weeks before Joe Biden and Donald Trump faced off in a presidential election. It had been left at a computer repair shop in Delaware. The New York Post reported on its contents, and some former spy officials said it looked like Russian disinformation.
The FBI later seized the laptop and said it was real. Republicans spent years arguing the case had been covered up. The FBI unit at the centre of the fight was shut down after Trump returned to office in January 2025.
π― Why It Matters
The charges land just over a week before US midterm elections. For voters it is another sign that old political fights can still decide who wins in November.
Two former FBI officials have been charged with lying to Congress about a 2020 investigation into a laptop owned by Hunter Biden, the son of former US president Joe Biden. The former officials are Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides. They made their first court appearance in Washington on Friday.
Both had overseen the FBI unit that watches for foreign interference in US elections. They told Congress that the unit was not involved in the laptop case. Prosecutors say messages sent at the time show otherwise. Their lawyers call the charges political and badly timed.
The laptop first surfaced in October 2020, weeks before Joe Biden and Donald Trump faced off in a presidential election. It had been left at a computer repair shop in Delaware. The New York Post reported on its contents, and some former spy officials said it looked like Russian disinformation.
The FBI later seized the laptop and said it was real. Republicans spent years arguing the case had been covered up. The FBI unit at the centre of the fight was shut down after Trump returned to office in January 2025.
The charges land just over a week before US midterm elections. For voters it is another sign that old political fights can still decide who wins in November.