Two former senior FBI officials were taken into custody on Friday after being charged with lying to Congress about their roles in investigations into Hunter Biden, top Department of Justice officials announced.
The former officials, 46-year-old Nikki Floris and 56-year-old Bradley Benavides, surrendered on arrest warrants Friday morning, the DOJ said in a press release.
The charges were filed less than two weeks before the midterm election, breaking with longstanding DOJ guidance discouraging actions that could affect upcoming political races.
The announcement also comes amid growing concerns that President Donald Trump — who refused to accept his 2020 election loss and tried repeatedly to overturn those results — is looking for ways to challenge potential Republican midterm losses.
On Thursday, the DOJ filed an unusual lawsuit against Alaska seeking to preemptively challenge the results of that state's Senate race if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan narrowly loses.