WASHINGTON — Two former FBI intelligence officials who monitored foreign election interference were charged on Friday with making false statements to Congress regarding their involvement in probes concerning Hunter Biden, federal prosecutors announced.
Nikki Floris, 46, and Bradley Benavides, 56, surrendered to authorities on arrest warrants Friday morning and appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Washington, D.C. The criminal complaint charges each with one count of lying to lawmakers during separate congressional interviews before the House Judiciary Committee in 2023, CBS News reported.
Disputed Testimony Before Congress
According to charging documents cited by CBS News and CNBC, Floris served as deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force from mid-2019 to mid-2022, while Benavides was its section chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 presidential election. The task force was created during Donald Trump’s first presidency to counter foreign election meddling before it was disbanded in February 2025 by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Associated Press reported.
Court records state that Floris denied having any role in the Hunter Biden probe or taking part in related task force discussions during her July 2023 appearance. Benavides testified that September that he only learned about an active criminal investigation into the laptop from a Wikipedia page, according to CBS News. An affidavit filed with the complaint disputed both accounts, asserting that the pair took part in classified briefings with prosecutors and had direct communication with investigators handling the case.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in an online statement that documentary evidence and witness accounts contradict their sworn testimony, adding, “No one is above the law.” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro also stated on social media that the defendants helped shape public narratives concerning the laptop before the 2020 vote, CNBC reported.
Defense Calls Allegations Political
Attorneys for the former officials strongly disputed the allegations and questioned the timing of the criminal filing, which comes 10 days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, the AP reported. The Justice Department has historically avoided overt public enforcement actions close to elections when they could influence political contests.
Defense attorneys for Floris, including Margaret Donovan, Chris Mattei, Mary Dohrmann and Kyle Freeny, described their client as a dedicated public servant for nearly two decades. In a statement reported by CNBC and the AP, her legal team argued that the government brought “nonsense charges” based on politics rather than evidence to score political points.
Ron Safer, an attorney representing Benavides, told the court that the allegations were years old and urged the court to evaluate the government’s evidence without delay, CBS News reported.
Hunter Biden was investigated for years over tax issues and overseas business activities, though he was never charged with offenses tied to his foreign dealings, CBS News noted. He was convicted on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to tax offenses before receiving a pardon from his father, former President Joe Biden, shortly before leaving office.
Judge Questions Procedural Approach
During Friday’s initial appearance, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui described the government’s procedural handling of the case as “strange” and denied a request by prosecutors to postpone further proceedings for at least two weeks, according to CBS News.
Faruqui scheduled a preliminary hearing for Tuesday at 11 a.m. to evaluate whether prosecutors have established adequate probable cause. That hearing will determine whether the case proceeds toward formal indictment or trial.
