WASHINGTON — Two former FBI officials turned themselves in Friday, charged with lying to Congress when they said their task force had nothing to do with the Hunter Biden investigations, the Justice Department said.
They are Nikki Cole Floris, 46, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Bradley Benavides, 56, of Aiken, South Carolina. Each faces a single false-statements charge over testimony to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023. The arrest warrants stemmed from a criminal complaint announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Both held senior jobs on the FBI Foreign Influence Task Force. The unit, since dissolved, led the bureau’s effort to guard the 2020 election against foreign malign influence. Floris headed it as a deputy assistant director from mid-2019 to mid-2022, and Benavides served as section chief from mid-2019 through the election.
Prosecutors say the task force took part in several FBI investigations of Hunter Biden before the 2020 vote. The charges come from an ongoing investigation into the unit.
The committee questioned the pair about the task force’s role. Each was warned that lying to Congress is a crime, and each told the committee the unit had no involvement in the Hunter Biden investigations.
Floris testified that she took part in no discussions about Hunter Biden during her time with the task force. Benavides said he first learned the FBI had Hunter Biden’s laptop when he read a Wikipedia article in 2023.
Prosecutors allege the record shows otherwise. They say Floris routinely discussed the Hunter Biden investigations for more than a year, both inside the task force and with others at the FBI, and that Benavides regularly talked about the laptop with bureau officials before the 2020 election.
An affidavit filed with the complaint cites documents, communications from the time and witness accounts that it says contradict the pair’s testimony.
Pirro said “no one is above the law” and accused the two of choosing “deception over duty.” Attorney General Todd Blanche said federal law enforcement officials “cannot lie to Congress and get away with it.”
FBI Director Kash Patel claimed one of the defendants is on record privately saying they were “running a shadow government” during the 2020 election. He did not say which defendant, and the claim has not been independently verified. Patel also said the bureau had dismantled what he called a “corrupt” squad known as CR-15.
The Justice Department’s announcement did not include a response from Floris or Benavides.
The charges are allegations, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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