Two former FBI officials have been charged with making false statements to Congress about their knowledge of the bureau’s investigations into Hunter Biden, the Justice Department announced Friday.
Nikki Cole Floris, 46, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Bradley Benavides, 56, of Aiken, South Carolina, surrendered on arrest warrants after a criminal complaint accused them of lying during congressional interviews in 2023.
Both face one charge of making false statements in a matter under the jurisdiction of the legislative branch. The case stems from an investigation into the FBI’s now-disbanded Foreign Influence Task Force, which worked to protect the 2020 presidential election from foreign interference.
According to the Justice Department, Floris and Benavides told the House Judiciary Committee that the task force was not involved in the FBI’s investigations into Hunter Biden. Investigators say emails, other records and witness accounts contradict their testimony.
Floris led the task force as a deputy assistant director from 2019 to 2022. Benavides served as its section chief from 2019 through the 2020 election.
The complaint alleges that Floris regularly discussed the Hunter Biden investigations with FBI colleagues. It also says Benavides discussed Hunter Biden’s laptop with other officials before telling Congress in 2023 that he learned about it through Wikipedia.
The Justice Department said the task force was involved in discussions about the investigations, including the handling of information related to the laptop. The FBI obtained the laptop’s contents in December 2019 as part of its investigations into Hunter Biden.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said federal law enforcement officials must be held accountable if they break the law. FBI Director Kash Patel also said the charges involved testimony given in 2023 about investigations connected to the 2020 election.
Both defendants have denied wrongdoing through their attorneys, who described the charges as politically motivated and said they intend to challenge the allegations.