2 ex-FBI officials charged with lying to Congress over Hunter Biden probes

Two former senior FBI officials who have faced heavy criticism from President Donald Trump’s allies were charged Friday with lying to Congress about their role in the bureau’s investigations into Hunter Biden.

Nikki Cole Floris, 46, and Bradley Benavides, 56, surrendered on arrest warrants after a criminal complaint charged each with one count of making false statements, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said.

“When senior FBI agents lie to Congress believing they are above the law, it’s time to bring the hammer of justice down on them,” US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement.

Both told the House Judiciary Committee in 2023 that the now-dissolved Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) was not involved in the Hunter Biden investigations, according to prosecutors.

Benavides testified that he learned the FBI had Hunter Biden’s laptop only from a Wikipedia article in 2023, but prosecutors said he had regularly discussed the laptop with FBI officials before the 2020 election.

FBI Director Kash Patel said one of the defendants was “on record privately claiming to be ‘running a shadow government’ during the 2020 election.”

Floris led the FITF as deputy assistant director from mid-2019 to mid-2022, while Benavides served as its section chief through the 2020 election.

Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, was convicted in June 2024 on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to federal tax charges that September. His father pardoned him in December 2024 before leaving office.