Two Ex-FBI Officials Charged With False Statements in Hunter Biden Laptop Inquiry
Two former FBI intelligence officials who worked on foreign election interference were charged Friday with lying to Congress about their roles in investigating the origins of Hunter Biden's laptop ahead of the 2020 election.
Two former FBI intelligence officials who specialized in foreign election interference were charged Friday with making false statements about their roles in investigating the origins of Hunter Biden's laptop in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.
The Justice Department identified the defendants as Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides, both former members of the FBI's now-dissolved Foreign Influence Task Force. According to the department, the two falsely denied their involvement in the investigations when they testified before Congress in 2023. Both surrendered Friday on arrest warrants.
Prosecutors say they have evidence that Benavides discussed the laptop story with others inside the FBI, contradicting his testimony that he first learned of it from Wikipedia. The department also says it has evidence that Floris discussed Hunter Biden with members of the Foreign Influence Task Force, despite testifying to the contrary.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro framed the charges as a matter of institutional accountability. «Lying to Congress by anyone strikes at the heart of our democratic system, but 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,» she said. «When senior officials entrusted with safeguarding our nation's security choose deception over duty, they undermine the very institutions they swore to uphold.»
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the arrests in a statement, saying the two former officials «allegedly lied to Congress in 2023 on matters regarding investigations related to the 2020 election.» He added that one of the individuals is on record privately claiming to be «running a shadow government» during the 2020 election. «As we've said repeatedly: weaponization will never be tolerated at this FBI,» Patel said.
Attorneys for Floris rejected the allegations and described their client as a dedicated public servant. «Nikki Floris is a patriot. She served our nation as a dedicated FBI intelligence officer for nearly 20 years,» they said in a statement. «Yet today, the DOJ has accused her falsely of a crime on the say-so of politicians, not on the facts.» The attorneys also questioned the timing of the charges, saying it is «no coincidence the government is filing these nonsense charges now, years later, on the eve of an election.»
The case centers on the FBI's handling of material from a laptop associated with Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, as the 2020 campaign entered its final stretch. Questions about the origins of the laptop and how intelligence agencies assessed it became a persistent political flashpoint, and congressional committees later sought testimony from officials involved in the review.
The charges against Floris and Benavides mark a rare instance of federal prosecutors accusing former senior FBI personnel of misleading lawmakers about their work. The Foreign Influence Task Force, which handled foreign election interference matters, has since been dissolved.
The Justice Department did not immediately provide additional detail on potential penalties or on the next steps in the case. The matter remains under scrutiny as both defendants prepare to answer the charges in court.
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