DOJ Files Late-Night Charges Against Ex-FBI Officials in Hunter Biden Probe

Federal prosecutors filed new criminal charges against two former FBI counterintelligence officials early Tuesday morning. The unsworn and unsigned superseding complaint accuses Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides of obstructing a congressional proceeding and lying to lawmakers about their roles in the bureau’s investigations of Hunter Biden.

The filing came just hours before the defendants were scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C., for a preliminary hearing. At that session, their attorneys are expected to question a government witness to test the strength of the complaint. The defense aims to determine whether the Justice Department can demonstrate probable cause that a crime occurred.

The timing of the charges has drawn scrutiny from former prosecutors and other federal officials. Felony complaints of this nature are typically reserved for exigent circumstances, such as ongoing threats to public safety or national security. Department guidelines generally urge prosecutors to avoid overt investigative steps in politically sensitive cases so close to a national election.

Floris’ legal team called the late-night filing unusual in a statement provided to CBS News. The lawyers noted that in their combined decades of service at the Justice Department, they had never seen an unsigned and unsworn complaint filed in this manner. They argued that the public lodging of criminal charges must be authorized by a grand jury, a judge, or the defendant.

The defense characterized the government’s move as an attempt to delay Floris’ right to challenge the charges in court. They described the action as a desperate attempt to litigate the case in the media rather than the courtroom. The lawyers said they would address what they called outrageous government conduct at the Tuesday hearing.

The charges center on testimony that Floris and Benavides gave to a congressional committee. Floris testified on July 19, 2023, while Benavides testified on September 28, 2023. The superseding complaint alleges that the defendants knowingly and willfully provided materially false statements about their awareness of and involvement in the FBI’s investigations into Hunter Biden.

The complaint focuses on statements regarding the defendants’ roles on the Foreign Influence Task Force. This unit included a counterintelligence operation known as Round River. The operation aimed to collect derogatory informant reporting on Hunter Biden and flag it as Russian disinformation ahead of the 2020 election.

Floris served as the deputy assistant director of the Foreign Influence Task Force from mid-2019 through mid-2022. Benavides served as the section chief for the same unit from mid-2019 through the 2020 election. The complaint alleges that the defendants made false statements to minimize or conceal the task force’s engagement with the Hunter Biden investigations. It further claims they did so to impede the congressional investigation.

The filing adds a new charge to the original complaint against Floris. The defense stated that the new charge is as meritless as the first. The preliminary hearing will now proceed with the defense challenging the legality and substance of the government’s latest accusations.

The Justice Department has not issued a public response to the defense’s comments regarding the filing process. The next step in the case will be the preliminary hearing, where the court will decide whether the evidence supports the prosecution’s claims.