Two former FBI employees were charged Friday with making false statements to Congress about the bureau’s investigations into Hunter Biden, adding a criminal case to years of disputes over how federal authorities handled the politically charged inquiries. Bradley Benavides, 56, and Nikki Floris, 46, each face one count related to testimony they gave lawmakers in 2023. Prosecutors have filed criminal complaints, but have not yet obtained a grand jury indictment. Both appeared in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Friday and are due back for a preliminary hearing Tuesday. U.S. Attorney for Washington Jeanine Pirro said in a statement that the pair allegedly misrepresented their roles. She said one claimed to have learned about the matter only through Wikipedia, despite evidence that the person had helped shape the public narrative about Hunter Biden’s laptop shortly before the 2020 election. The statement did not identify which defendant made that claim. The laptop became a flashpoint after the New York Post reported weeks before the election that Hunter Biden had left a computer at a Delaware repair shop in 2019 and that it later came into the possession of Rudy Giuliani, then a personal lawyer to Donald Trump. Republicans have since accused the FBI of mishandling the device and its investigations into the former president’s son. Hunter Biden was convicted on federal gun charges and later pleaded guilty to separate tax offenses. His father, former President Joe Biden, issued him a full and unconditional pardon in December 2024, shortly before leaving office. House Republicans also pursued an impeachment inquiry focused on Hunter Biden’s business dealings, but no evidence was presented that Joe Biden financially benefited from those activities. At Friday’s hearing, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui described both defendants as longtime federal law enforcement public servants with “sparkling backgrounds.” He also observed that bringing charges over conduct he described as “quite old” was unusual. The charges now put the defendants’ congressional testimony under scrutiny, while the complaint process means the allegations have not yet been tested at trial.