WASHINGTON (AP) — Two former FBI officials charged with lying to Congress about their participation in investigations involving Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, are due back in court Tuesday in a case their lawyers have described as baseless and politically motivated.

The prosecution of Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, announced Friday, is the latest in a series of splashy and politically charged investigative actions the Justice Department has undertaken in the run-up to next week’s midterm elections.

The case accuses the former officials of falsely playing down their knowledge about a laptop the Justice Department says Hunter Biden abandoned at a computer repair shop in 2019. But beyond that, it represents a Trump administration broadside against a since-disbanded FBI task force that was set up to monitor foreign influence.…