WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Former FBI official Nikki Floris wept outside court while facing charges of lying to Congress about the Hunter Biden laptop story.
  • Floris and Bradley Benavides could face up to five years in prison if convicted.
  • A judge rejected a superseding complaint that sought to add an obstruction charge without prior judicial approval.
  • An FBI witness said Benavides’ testimony contradicted tangible evidence but acknowledged lacking direct proof that the claim was intentionally false.

Former FBI official Nikki Floris broke down in tears outside a federal courtroom Tuesday as she faced a preliminary hearing on charges that she and another former bureau official lied to Congress about burying the Hunter Biden laptop story.

Floris was seen weeping in a courthouse hallway during a break in the probable cause hearing in the district court for Washington, DC. The emotional scene unfolded as prosecutors sought to keep the case moving forward.

Floris and fellow former FBI official Bradley Benavides surrendered last week. Both face up to five years in prison if convicted of lying to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023 about their involvement in discrediting stories concerning the troubled first son.

US Magistrate Zia Faruqui presided over the hearing, which was intended to determine whether the Justice Department presented enough evidence to proceed with the prosecution. Floris and Benavides both served on the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force when they allegedly made false statements to the House panel.

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Faruqui did not issue a ruling after a full day of testimony. The probable cause question therefore remained unresolved, with the hearing scheduled to continue Wednesday.

The judge did hand the Justice Department a setback by striking down a superseding complaint filed against Floris and Benavides in the middle of the night. That amended complaint sought to add a new obstruction charge against both former officials.

Prosecutors did not obtain approval from a judge before filing the amended complaint. “Why today upend the entire history of how we charge cases?” Faruqui asked, arguing that prosecutors appeared “afraid” he was “not going to find probable cause.”

The government alleges that Floris and Benavides frequently discussed Hunter Biden and his laptop before the 2020 election. Prosecutors cited internal FBI messages, emails, and testimony from bureau employees as they laid out their case.

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Those alleged discussions included helping with press inquiries after The Post published its bombshell Oct. 14, 2020 story about emails from Biden’s laptop. The story said officials pushed the false narrative that the laptop was Russian disinformation.

Floris testified before the House Judiciary Committee in 2023 that she had no knowledge about the laptop. Benavides claimed he first learned about the laptop through Wikipedia.

FBI Special Agent Bryan Witt appeared as a government witness Tuesday and expressed disbelief that Benavides would not remember communications about the laptop before his congressional testimony. Witt was cross-examined by Benavides attorney Ron Safer.

“It’d be common sense to remember that stuff,” Witt said. He also testified that Benavides’ account to the House panel about learning of the laptop contradicted “tangible” evidence, including chat logs and direct message transcripts.

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The government witness ultimately acknowledged a significant limitation in the evidence presented. Witt said he did not have direct evidence that Benavides’ claim was intentionally false.

Floris’ attorney, Margaret Donovan, pressed Witt to characterize the investigation of her client as a “witch hunt.” Witt refused to adopt that description during his testimony.

Donovan noted that President Trump had alluded to Floris and Benavides in a speech the night before Witt was assigned to the case. She also said both former officials were identified by name in a letter from the president directing the FBI to investigate the matter.

Witt acknowledged that he was “concerned [the investigation] would be viewed as political,” but he still declined to call it a “witch hunt.” He agreed with Donovan that the assignment he received from FBI Director Kash Patel was “unusual.”

The special agent remained adamant that he had been instructed to “investigate potential crimes.” Witt said he was not told that a crime had necessarily occurred or directed to investigate a specific crime as an established fact.

With no probable cause ruling issued after Tuesday’s testimony, the legal fate of the case remained pending. The hearing was slated to resume Wednesday.

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