DOJ Adds Charges Against Ex FBI Officials in Hunter Biden Probe

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, filed a superseding criminal complaint against former FBI counterintelligence officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, accusing them of misleading Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation into the bureau's handling of inquiries involving Hunter Biden. The filing in Washington, D.C., expands a case that has drawn scrutiny because of its timing ahead of the midterm elections.

According to CBS News, the new complaint was submitted early Tuesday, hours before Floris and Benavides were scheduled to appear in federal court for a preliminary hearing. Their attorneys were expected to question a government witness about whether prosecutors could establish probable cause that a crime had occurred.

The Washington Post reported on October 23 that the Justice Department had charged the two former officials with making false statements to Congress. The latest filing adds an obstruction allegation and revises the government's earlier complaint.

The case concerns testimony the officials gave to a congressional committee on July 19, 2023, and September 28, 2023, respectively. Prosecutors allege that both misrepresented their knowledge of and involvement in FBI investigations concerning Hunter Biden, thereby impeding congressional oversight.

The complaint focuses on their work with the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, including an operation known as "Round River." The operation involved collecting potentially damaging informant reports, including material concerning Hunter Biden, to assess whether the information should be flagged as Russian disinformation before the 2020 election.

Floris served as the task force's deputy assistant director from mid-2019 through mid-2022, while Benavides was a section chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 election. Prosecutors allege that their congressional testimony was intended to conceal or minimize the task force's engagement with the Hunter Biden investigations and related communications.

The complaint alleges that the officials "knowingly and willfully provided materially false statements to the Committee about their respective awareness of and involvement in the FBI's investigations into Hunter Biden, and thereby corruptly obstructed, and impeded and endeavored to influence, obstruct, and impede the due proper administration of the law."

The filing has also raised questions about the Justice Department's handling of politically sensitive cases so close to a national election. Former prosecutors and other federal officials have expressed concern about the timing and procedural circumstances surrounding the charges, according to CBS News.

Felony criminal complaints are generally used in circumstances requiring more immediate action, including cases involving potential threats to public safety or national security. Justice Department guidelines and longstanding practices have also encouraged caution when taking overt investigative steps in politically sensitive matters near elections.

Floris' attorneys challenged both the substance of the allegations and the manner in which prosecutors submitted the revised complaint. In a statement provided to CBS News, they questioned the filing's validity and argued that it undermined their client's ability to contest the charges in court.

"What is going on at the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office?

In the middle of the night, the government filed an unsigned and unsworn complaint attempting to fix the issues with their original charge against Ms. Floris and adding a new charge just as meritless as the first one," Floris' legal team said.

The attorneys also questioned whether prosecutors had followed the proper procedures for publicly bringing criminal charges. They argued that the timing could shift attention from the courtroom proceedings to public debate over the case.

"In our combined decades of DOJ service, we have never seen or even heard of something like this being filed," the lawyers said. "That's because the public lodging of criminal charges must be authorized by the grand jury, a judge, or the defendant herself. Here, the government has taken that power for itself in a desperate attempt to delay our client's right to challenge the charges in court and litigate this case in the media, rather than the courtroom. We have asked to address this outrageous government conduct against a decorated public servant at today's court hearing."

The allegations remain accusations, and the preliminary hearing is intended to examine whether the government has sufficient evidence to proceed. The dispute centers on the former officials' congressional testimony and their roles in FBI counterintelligence work involving information about Hunter Biden.