Two former FBI officials charged over congressional testimony about Hunter Biden

The dispute reaches back to intelligence work during the 2020 presidential election. NBC News reported that the two former FBI officials had become frequent targets of allies of President Donald Trump over that work.

Republicans have long accused the FBI of mishandling Hunter Biden's laptop and investigations into him, according to NPR News. Those accusations provide the background to the new case, but they are separate from proving that either former official lied to Congress.

The congressional statements at issue concerned the former officials' involvement in Hunter Biden investigations. New York Post reported that they had told Congress they had little involvement. The supplied coverage does not give the dates of those statements.

On October 23, 2026, reports said both former officials had been charged. Each faces one count of lying to Congress about Hunter Biden's laptop, according to CBS Top Stories.

The charges drew an immediate challenge from attorneys for one of the former officials. CNBC reported that they called the case "nonsense charges" and criticized the Trump administration for bringing it shortly before the midterm election.

The reported charges concern what the former officials told Congress about their investigative roles. They do not establish that those statements were false, and the supplied coverage reports no verdict.

The accounts describe the subject with slightly different emphasis: CBS Top Stories focuses on the laptop, while CNBC describes the charges as concerning the Hunter Biden probe. Both describe allegations of lying, rather than a finding of guilt.

The central question is what evidence prosecutors present to show that the congressional statements were false. The supplied reports do not set out that evidence in detail or give a date for the next court proceeding. Attorneys for one former official have already publicly disputed the case, according to CNBC.