The Justice Department charged two former senior FBI officials on Friday with lying to Congress about the bureau’s investigations into Hunter Biden.
Nikki Floris, 46, and Bradley Benavides, 56, each face one count of making false statements to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Washington, D.C. Both surrendered on arrest warrants and made their first court appearances Friday morning, federal officials said.
Prosecutors say the pair misled lawmakers about the role of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force in investigations involving the former president’s son during the 2020 election. Floris led the task force as a deputy assistant director from mid-2019 through mid-2022, and Benavides served as its section chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 election. The task force was disbanded last year.
Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said in court that the charges relate to “Hunter Biden’s laptop and allegations around that,” according to CNN. The 27-page statement of facts cites emails, messages and witness accounts that prosecutors say contradict the testimony Floris and Benavides gave in 2023.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced the arrests in a social media post. FBI Director Kash Patel said the charges stem from an investigation into the since-dissolved task force.
Lawyers for Floris disputed the charges. “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,” they said in a statement, adding that the case rests on the “say-so of politicians, not on the facts.”
Source: Reuters
