Two former senior FBI officials were charged Friday with lying to Congress about their roles in the Hunter Biden laptop investigation during the 2020 election.
Nikki Floris, who led the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force as Deputy Assistant Director from mid-2019 through mid-2022, and Bradley Benavides, who served as FITF Section Chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 election, self-surrendered to face the charges, DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro and FBI Director Kash Patel announced. The case stems from transcribed interviews the pair gave to the House Judiciary Committee in July and September 2023, according to a source familiar with the charges.
“Floris and Benavides allegedly lied to Congress about their roles in the FBI’s Hunter Biden investigations, with one claiming they only learned about it from Wikipedia – despite evidence showing their involvement in helping shape the public narrative about Hunter Biden’s laptop right before the election,” Pirro said.
Patel laid out the specifics of their alleged deceptions. “Both testified that the FITF was not involved in the Hunter Biden investigations. Documentary evidence, contemporaneous communications, and witness accounts contradict their testimony,” the FBI director said.
The charges mark a significant turn for two officials who held influential positions in the bureau’s unit tasked with countering foreign election interference. Their work on the FITF during one of the most contentious presidential campaigns in recent memory had already drawn scrutiny from congressional Republicans.
Patel also highlighted a striking private claim attributed to Floris. “Floris is also on record privately claiming to be ‘running a shadow government’ during the 2020 election in her role on the FITF,” he noted.
The investigation into the two ex-officials forms part of a broader examination of how federal law enforcement handled the Hunter Biden laptop story as it emerged in the weeks before the November 2020 vote. The laptop, which contained emails and other materials related to President Joe Biden’s son, became a focal point of political controversy after the outlet first reported on its contents in October 2020.
At that time, dozens of former intelligence officials signed a letter suggesting the laptop bore the hallmarks of a Russian disinformation operation, a characterization that social media platforms cited when restricting sharing of the story. The FBI had possession of the laptop but officials’ public and private discussions about its authenticity remained disputed territory.
The FITF’s precise role in assessing or responding to the laptop narrative has been a particular focus of House Republican investigators. Floris and Benavides both told lawmakers under oath that their task force had little to no involvement in the Hunter Biden matter, assertions that federal prosecutors now say were false.
Reps for the pair couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
The case adds to the legal and political fallout surrounding investigations into Hunter Biden, who received a sweeping pardon from his father in December covering any federal offenses committed between January 2014 and December 2024. That pardon came after the younger Biden faced separate gun and tax charges, though it does not appear to affect the ongoing scrutiny of how law enforcement officials handled materials related to him.