Federal prosecutors have charged former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides with making false statements to Congress about their involvement in Hunter Biden investigations, alleging that internal communications contradict their 2023 testimony.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Two former senior FBI officials were charged Friday, Oct. 23, with lying to Congress about their knowledge of and involvement in federal investigations concerning Hunter Biden, following a Justice Department investigation into the FBI’s handling of politically sensitive information during the 2020 presidential election.
Nikki Cole Floris, 46, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Bradley Benavides, 56, of Aiken, South Carolina, surrendered to federal authorities after criminal complaints accused each of making false statements to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023.
According to the Justice Department’s official announcement, both previously held leadership positions within the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, which was responsible for investigating foreign interference in American elections.
Floris served as the task force’s deputy assistant director from mid-2019 through mid-2022, while Benavides served as its section chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 presidential election.
Federal prosecutors allege that the officials falsely minimized their awareness of FBI investigations involving Hunter Biden, including the bureau’s possession of his laptop and its response to news reporting about the device.
The allegations center on testimony given during congressional interviews in 2023, when House investigators examined whether federal agencies had improperly influenced public discussion of information concerning the Biden family.
Floris allegedly told lawmakers that she had not participated in discussions about Hunter Biden while serving on the Foreign Influence Task Force.
Benavides reportedly testified that he first learned the FBI possessed Hunter Biden’s laptop after reading a Wikipedia article in 2023.
However, investigators say contemporaneous emails, internal messages, meeting records and witness statements demonstrate that both officials were familiar with the investigations years earlier.
According to the criminal complaint’s supporting affidavit, Floris and Benavides participated in internal discussions concerning Hunter Biden and helped coordinate the FBI’s response to questions about the laptop before the November 2020 election.
The affidavit states that investigators obtained communications showing the officials discussed the laptop after the New York Post published its initial reporting in October 2020.
Benavides allegedly contacted FBI personnel to obtain information concerning the dates when the bureau received materials connected to the laptop.
Floris also reportedly received and distributed investigative updates concerning Hunter Biden.
Federal prosecutors contend that those activities directly contradict the accounts the former officials provided to congressional investigators.
The investigation also examined the task force’s role in an internal FBI operation known as Round River, which evaluated allegations concerning the Biden family’s foreign business dealings and possible Russian influence operations.
According to the affidavit, the operation began in December 2019, during the House impeachment investigation involving President Donald Trump.
The task force collected information about alleged Biden family corruption to evaluate whether reporting was connected to Russian disinformation efforts.
Floris and Benavides allegedly approved an initial operational plan associated with Round River.
The investigation is part of broader scrutiny of the FBI’s conduct during the 2020 election, particularly its treatment of allegations involving Hunter Biden’s business activities in Ukraine and China.
Federal investigators had obtained materials from Hunter Biden’s laptop in December 2019, before the information became a major political controversy during the presidential campaign.
The laptop subsequently became evidence in federal investigations involving Hunter Biden’s financial affairs.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the charges reflect the Justice Department’s commitment to holding federal officials accountable for statements made during congressional investigations.
“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,” Pirro said.
“When senior officials entrusted with safeguarding our nation’s security choose deception over duty, they undermine the very institutions they swore to uphold. Today’s action makes clear that no one is above the law, and we will hold accountable all who obstruct the truth.”
FBI Director Kash Patel also criticized the former officials, announcing that the arrests followed an ongoing investigation into the now-disbanded task force.
“This morning two former FBI members of the now dissolved Foreign Influence Task Force, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, were taken into custody – charged with allegedly lying to Congress in 2023 on matters regarding investigations related to the 2020 election,” Patel said.
Patel further alleged that one former official had privately described participating in a “shadow government” during the election period.
The FBI director said the bureau had dismantled the unit and would continue investigating allegations of political misconduct by former employees.
Attorneys representing Floris rejected the charges, describing the prosecution as politically motivated.
“The government’s reasons for charging Nikki are as transparent as they are unjust: to push a false narrative for a shot at political points,” her attorneys said, according to Reuters.
Her defense team maintained that the allegations relied on political accusations rather than evidence establishing criminal wrongdoing.
Both defendants appeared in federal court in Washington on Friday. Prosecutors did not seek their continued detention, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Tuesday.
Each faces one count of making false statements within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch, in violation of federal law.
The charges were filed through criminal complaints rather than grand jury indictments. Prosecutors must obtain an indictment or otherwise establish an appropriate legal basis to proceed with the prosecution.
The Associated Press reported that the presiding judge questioned the unusual timing and procedural circumstances of the case, which was filed less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
The criminal complaints focus on whether Floris and Benavides knowingly provided false accounts of their professional activities. They do not establish that the FBI unlawfully suppressed information to protect Joe Biden or that either defendant committed misconduct in the underlying Hunter Biden investigations.
Both former officials are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The prosecutions mark a significant development in the Justice Department’s continuing examination of the FBI’s foreign influence operations and its handling of Hunter Biden-related information during the 2020 presidential campaign.
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