Pirro Charges Ex-FBI Intelligence Chiefs With Perjury Over Hunter Biden Laptop

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro has indicted two former FBI executives on perjury charges related to their 2023 testimony regarding the Hunter Biden laptop investigation. The Justice Department announced the charges on Friday, alleging that Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides intentionally concealed key information while testifying before the House Judiciary Committee.

Floris, who led the intelligence division in the FBI's Washington field office, and Benavides, a former deputy assistant director for counterintelligence, each face a maximum prison sentence of five years if convicted. Both defendants appeared before a federal magistrate judge on Friday morning and were subsequently released.

The government's case relies on an FBI affidavit detailing specific contradictions between the defendants' sworn statements and internal communications. Prosecutors claim Floris denied any involvement in the Hunter Biden probes during her testimony. However, the affidavit states she maintained frequent communication with the case team for over a year, exchanging information about the target. It further alleges she claimed ignorance regarding the laptop, despite coordinating the FBI's real-time response to media reports about the device.

Benavides testified several months after Floris, telling the same committee that he knew little about the matter. He stated he learned of the laptop's existence by reading a Wikipedia entry while preparing for his session. The affidavit counters that he was in constant communication about the laptop over several days. A member of the Judiciary Committee said these answers shaped the investigation's trajectory, specifically by blocking follow-up interviews and subpoenas.

In a statement, Pirro accused the pair of undermining the institutions they served. She stated that when senior agents believe they are above the law, it is time to bring the hammer of justice down on them. Pirro added that lying to Congress strikes at the heart of the democratic system.

Defense attorneys have disputed the timing and substance of the charges. Counsel for Floris argued the Justice Department accused her falsely based on the say-so of politicians rather than facts. They described Floris as a patriot with nearly 20 years of service and called it no coincidence that the government filed these nonsense charges years later, on the eve of an election. Ron Safer, representing Benavides, urged the court to hold a hearing to determine if prosecutors had sufficient evidence against two lifetime public servants.

US Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui granted the defense request for a hearing to weigh the government's evidence. He scheduled the hearing for Tuesday, a date sooner than is typical for defendants released from custody. Faruqui noted that it is rare to see charges of this nature filed more than three years after the original testimony. He expressed concern that the information was old but acknowledged the defendants' sparkling backgrounds in law enforcement and their interest in clearing their names quickly.

Faruqui described the situation as a Sword of Damocles hanging over the defendants' heads, noting that the matter would follow them for the rest of their lives. He emphasized the need for a swift resolution given the age of the case.

The laptop at the center of the dispute was handed to the FBI in 2019. A computer shop owner told the Washington Post he turned over the device after viewing some of its contents, stating that Hunter Biden had dropped it off and never returned to collect it. Republicans view the laptop as evidence of corruption in the Biden family, while Democrats describe it as part of a Republican conspiracy.

The indictment arrives as many FBI agents accused by allies of President Donald Trump of working against him have been pushed out of the bureau since the start of his second term. Some former agents say they were dismissed for working on investigations involving Trump, while others cite a lack of perceived loyalty as the reason for their departures.