Nikki Cole Floris, 46, and Bradley Benavides, 56, surrendered on arrest warrants on Friday after each was charged with one count of making false statements, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said, Anadolu Agency reported.
The charges stem from testimony the two gave to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023 regarding the FBI’s now-disbanded Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF). Prosecutors allege that both officials told lawmakers the unit was not involved in investigations concerning Hunter Biden.
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US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the charges reflected the need to hold senior law enforcement officials accountable for their statements to Congress.
“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,” Pirro said.
According to prosecutors, Benavides testified that he learned the FBI had obtained Hunter Biden’s laptop from a Wikipedia article in 2023. However, investigators allege that he had regularly discussed the laptop with FBI officials before the 2020 presidential election.
FBI Director Kash Patel also commented on the case, claiming that one of the defendants had privately described himself as “running a shadow government” during the 2020 election.
Floris served as deputy assistant director of the Foreign Influence Task Force from mid-2019 to mid-2022, while Benavides was the unit’s section chief through the 2020 election.
Both officials have faced criticism from allies of President Donald Trump over their work at the FBI.
Hunter Biden was convicted on federal gun charges in June 2024 and pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in September of that year. In December 2024, his father issued him a pardon covering federal offenses before leaving office.
The charges against the former FBI officials concern their congressional testimony about the bureau’s investigative activities. The allegations have not been established in court.
