Two Former FBI Task Force Leaders Charged With Lying to Congress About Hunter Biden Investigations

Two former senior FBI officials who led the bureau's Foreign Influence Task Force surrendered Friday, Oct. 23, after being charged with lying to Congress about their involvement in the FBI's investigations of Hunter Biden, the Justice Department said.

Nikki Cole Floris, 46, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Bradley Benavides, 56, of Aiken, South Carolina, each face a single count of making false statements to lawmakers, according to a criminal complaint filed Oct. 20 in federal court in Washington, the Daily Caller reported. Both turned themselves in on arrest warrants, Fox News reported.

Floris led the now-dissolved task force as a deputy assistant director from mid-2019 through mid-2022, and Benavides was its section chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 election, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X quoted by the Daily Caller.

What the Justice Department Alleges About the Hunter Biden Testimony

The charges stem from testimony the two gave to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023, according to the reports. A statement of facts filed by prosecutors says Floris answered no when asked whether there was "ever a discussion at the FITF about Hunter Biden" and whether she had "any involvement in the Hunter Biden investigation," Fox News reported. Prosecutors point to email records they say show she discussed the investigations with colleagues.

Benavides told congressional investigators he learned there was a criminal investigation related to the laptop from its Wikipedia page, according to Fox News. The Justice Department says emails show he discussed the laptop with FBI officials in the run-up to the 2020 election, was in contact with the team working the Hunter Biden investigation and met with that team before a meeting with lawmakers.

"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," said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, whose office announced the charges.

Patel wrote that Floris "is also on record privately claiming to be 'running a shadow government' during the 2020 election" in her role on the task force, according to the Daily Caller. That claim comes from Patel and has not been tested in court.

Defense Lawyers Call the Case Political

Lawyers for both former officials rejected the charges. "Nikki Floris is a patriot. 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," her attorneys said in a statement, adding that the timing "on the eve of an election" was no coincidence.

A lawyer for Benavides called the complaint "transparently political" and said, "These charges are a disgrace," according to Fox News. "Now we are in court, and the truth will come out," the lawyer said.

Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson had earlier accused the two officials of taking part in a 2020 FBI briefing on Russian disinformation that the senators said was meant to undercut their inquiry into the Biden family's foreign business dealings, Fox News reported. The FBI later authenticated the laptop when prosecutors used it as evidence at Hunter Biden's 2024 federal gun trial.

A criminal complaint contains allegations only, and both former officials are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Image: The J. Edgar Hoover Building, FBI headquarters in Washington (file photo), Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0.

Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press

Hold Everyone Accountable.

Sources: Fox News, "Ex-FBI officials arrested in Hunter Biden laptop probe as testimony comes under scrutiny" (Oct. 23, 2026): https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ex-fbi-officials-arrested-hunter-biden-laptop-probe-testimony-scrutiny ; The Daily Caller, "DOJ Charges Two Former FBI Officials With Lying To Congress About Hunter Biden Investigations" (Oct. 24, 2026): https://dailycaller.com/2026/10/24/doj-charges-former-fbi-officials-lying-congress-hunter-biden