4 minPolitics
Two Ex-FBI Officials Charged With Lying to Congress in Hunter Biden Laptop Inquiry
The Justice Department charged former FBI officials Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides with falsely denying their involvement in investigations tied to Hunter Biden's laptop, as both surrendered Friday and their attorneys denounced the case as politically timed.
The Justice Department has charged two former FBI officials with lying to Congress about their roles in the bureau's investigations into Hunter Biden, including matters connected to his laptop, an inquiry that unfolded in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides surrendered Friday on arrest warrants, according to the department.
Prosecutors allege that both falsely denied involvement in the investigations when they testified before Congress in 2023. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, framed the charges as a warning that senior officials are not exempt from 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,» Pirro said. She added that officials who «choose deception over duty» undermine the institutions they swore to uphold, and that the department will pursue anyone who obstructs the truth.
The charging documents describe evidence that contradicts the officials' testimony. According to the department, Benavides discussed the laptop story with others inside the FBI, despite telling lawmakers he had learned of it from Wikipedia. Prosecutors also say Floris discussed Hunter Biden with members of the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, even though she testified she had not.
Both defendants worked in the now-dissolved Foreign Influence Task Force, which focused on foreign efforts to interfere in U.S. elections. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the arrests, saying the two allegedly lied to Congress in 2023 about investigations related to the 2020 election. «One of these individuals is on record privately claiming to be 'running a shadow government' during the 2020 election,» Patel said. «As we've said repeatedly: weaponization will never be tolerated at this FBI.»
Attorneys for Floris rejected the charges outright, describing her as a dedicated public servant with nearly two decades of service as an FBI intelligence officer. «Nikki Floris is a patriot,» they said in a statement. «She served our nation as a dedicated FBI intelligence officer for nearly 20 years. Yet today, the DOJ has accused her falsely of a crime on the say-so of politicians, not on the facts.» The defense also questioned the timing, noting that the government filed the charges years after the testimony and on the eve of an election.
The case adds a new chapter to the long-running dispute over the laptop and how the FBI handled early intelligence about it before the 2020 vote. The bureau's Foreign Influence Task Force was later dissolved, and the two former officials had become frequent targets of allies of former President Donald Trump, who argued that the investigation was mishandled. The charges now place the question of how senior FBI personnel described their work to Congress before a federal court.
Floris and Benavides have not entered pleas, and no trial date has been set. The Justice Department has not indicated whether additional charges are expected. The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
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