# Two Former FBI Officials Charged With Lying to Congress About Their Roles in the Hunter Biden Laptop Probe

The Justice Department says Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides falsely denied involvement in Hunter Biden investigations in 2023 testimony. Floris's lawyers call the charges political and say they come on the eve of an election.

- Section: [Politics](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/politics/)
- Published: 2026-10-23
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/ex-fbi-officials-floris-benavides-charged-lying-congress-hunter-biden-laptop-pirro-patel/

The Justice Department has charged two former FBI officials with lying to Congress about their part in investigations that touched Hunter Biden and his laptop. Both surrendered Friday on arrest warrants, according to the DOJ.

The charges. Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides are accused of falsely denying involvement when they spoke to Congress in 2023. Floris was deputy assistant director and functional head of the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force. Benavides was the task force's section chief. FBI Director Kash Patel said the task force is now dissolved.

What prosecutors say Floris did. A DOJ statement of facts points to her 2023 testimony to the House Judiciary Committee. Asked whether there was "ever a discussion at the FITF about Hunter Biden" and whether she had "any involvement in the Hunter Biden investigation," she answered no. The DOJ says email logs show she discussed Hunter Biden with colleagues at the bureau.

What prosecutors say Benavides did. He told lawmakers he learned of the laptop story from Wikipedia. The DOJ says emails show he was in contact with the team working the Hunter Biden investigation and met with that team before his meeting with lawmakers, and that he discussed the laptop story with others in the FBI.

What officials said. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said lying to Congress "strikes at the heart of our democratic system." Patel said both allegedly lied about matters tied to investigations related to the 2020 election, and claimed one of them privately described "running a shadow government" during that election. Fox did not say where that claim comes from, so treat it as Patel's description.

The defense. Floris's attorneys said she is "a patriot" who served nearly 20 years as an FBI intelligence officer, and that the charges rest on "the say-so of politicians, not on the facts." They said the timing, on the eve of an election, is no coincidence. Lawyers for Benavides and a representative for Hunter Biden did not respond to Fox's requests for comment.

Background. Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson previously accused both officials of taking part in a 2020 FBI briefing about Russian disinformation that, they alleged, was meant to undermine their inquiry into Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings. Claims that the laptop was part of a Russian disinformation operation drew heated debate before the 2020 election. The FBI later authenticated the laptop when prosecutors introduced it at Biden's 2024 federal gun trial.

Note for readers: these are charges, not convictions. Fox labeled its report breaking news and said it would be updated, so details may change.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ex-fbi-officials-arrested-hunter-biden-laptop-probe-testimony-scrutiny)