DOJ charges two former FBI officials over alleged lies to Congress in Hunter Biden probe
WASHINGTON, DC: The Department of Justice has charged two former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials with allegedly making false statements to Congress about the bureau’s role in investigations involving Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden.
The charges stem from claims that the officials misrepresented the FBI’s role in the investigations during their 2023 testimony to Congress.
🚨 BREAKING: Two former senior FBI officials have been ARRESTED and charged with lying to Congress about the Bureau's role in the Hunter Biden investigations, Kash Patel says THE HAMMER 🔥 Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides ran the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force during the 2020 election. Both testified the task force was NOT involved in the Hunter Biden investigations Kash Patel says documents, messages from the time and witnesses all contradict that. Floris was even caught privately bragging that she was "running a shadow government." That task force was the FBI unit meeting with Big Tech in 2020, right before the Hunter laptop story got buried 🤯 The deep state is finally facing consequences! LET’S GO
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 23, 2026
DOJ brings charges against FBI officials for protecting the Biden family
The charges are part of a probe into whether FBI officials sought to minimise allegations of corruption involving the Biden family and evidence linked to Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides, both former senior FBI officials, each face one count of making false statements to Congress.
Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said in court on Friday, Oct 23, that the charges were related to “Hunter Biden’s laptop and allegations around that.”
The charges are linked to statements Floris and Benavides made to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023, when Republicans were questioning the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) and its role in investigations involving Hunter Biden.
A charging document unsealed in federal court in Washington, DC, on Friday alleges that the two former officials concealed the task force’s involvement and communications related to the investigations, thereby impeding the congressional inquiry.
The two top intelligence officials appeared in federal court on Friday for the first time. Prosecutors did not seek their pretrial detention, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, October 27.
Following Floris’s court appearance, her attorneys denied the allegations, saying she had been falsely accused “on the say-so of politicians” and describing her as “a patriot.”
“It’s no coincidence the government is filing these nonsense charges now, years later, on the eve of an election,” the lawyers said in their statement.
“The government’s reasons for charging Nikki are as transparent as they are unjust: to push a false narrative for a shot at political politics.”
The charges were filed 10 days before the November 3 midterm elections, placing the case in the spotlight amid heightened political tensions.
Hunter was convicted of federal crimes and pardoned by his father
Hunter Biden was convicted of federal gun charges in June 2024 and pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in September 2024. His father, Joe Biden, granted him a full and unconditional pardon on December 1, 2024.
A federal jury in Delaware in June 2024 found Hunter Biden guilty of three felony charges related to his purchase and possession of a firearm in 2018, when he was struggling with dr** addiction.
In September 2024, Hunter pleaded guilty in a Los Angeles federal court to nine tax-related counts (three felonies and six misdemeanors) involving his failure to pay more than $1 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019.
Kash Patel accuses Floris of running "shadow govt"
FBI Director Kash Patel said the charges are the result of an investigation into the since-dissolved FBI Foreign Influence Task Force.
In a statement posted on X, Patel said Floris had led the FITF as a deputy assistant director from mid-2019 through mid-2022, while Benavides served as the task force’s section chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 election.
Patel alleged that Floris had privately claimed to be “running a shadow government” during the 2020 election in her role with the task force.
Two former senior FBI officials, Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides, were taken into custody today on charges of allegedly lying to Congress about their involvement in the FBI’s investigations into Hunter Biden. The charges stem from an ongoing investigation into the since-dissolved FBI Foreign Influence Task Force. Floris led the FITF as a Deputy Assistant Director from mid-2019 through mid-2022. Benavides was the FITF Section Chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 election. Both testified that the FITF was not involved in the Hunter Biden investigations. Documentary evidence, contemporaneous communications, and witness accounts contradict their testimony. Floris is also on record privately claiming to be “running a shadow government” during the 2020 election in her role on the FITF. Lying to Congress by senior FBI officials strikes at the heart of our system. No one is above the law. The FBI has already dismantled the corrupt CR-15 squad that engaged in political weaponization targeting their opponents, including President Trump. Thanks to @TheJusticeDept @FBIKansasCity and @USAttyPirro. -DKP🇺🇸
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 23, 2026
“Both testified that the FITF was not involved in the Hunter Biden investigations. Documentary evidence, contemporaneous communications, and witness accounts contradict their testimony,” Patel said.
The allegations concern whether the officials accurately described the task force’s involvement in investigations related to Hunter Biden. The defendants will have the opportunity to challenge the charges in court.
