Two former senior FBI officials are facing criminal charges for allegedly lying to Congress about their involvement in the bureau’s investigation of Hunter Biden’s laptop. The charges, unsealed on Friday in Washington, D.C., target Nikki Floris, 46, a former intelligence analyst in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Bradley Benavides, 56, who previously served as the deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.
Both defendants appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday, where they were presented with a criminal complaint charging them with one count each of making false statements to Congress. The allegations stem from testimony provided in 2023 regarding their activities on the Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) during the 2020 election cycle. According to a statement of facts filed by the FBI, the two officials allegedly sought to conceal the FITF’s engagement with and communications regarding investigations into the president’s son.
The criminal complaint details specific instances where the officials allegedly misled lawmakers. Floris, who served as the deputy assistant director of the FITF from mid-2019 through mid-2022, testified before the House Judiciary Committee on July 19, 2023. When asked if she had any involvement in the Hunter Biden investigation, she reportedly replied, “I did not.” When further questioned if there was ever a discussion at the FITF about Hunter Biden, she allegedly answered, “No. At least not with me,” adding that while conversations might have happened below her, she personally did not participate in them.
However, the government alleges that witness accounts and contemporaneous documents from December 2019 through September 2021 show a different reality. The complaint asserts that Floris and Benavides were “actively involved” in the Hunter Biden investigations and that the FITF hosted classified briefings for agents and prosecutors in which both defendants were active participants. The FBI alleges Floris was in frequent communication with the case team for over a year, sending and receiving information regarding the probe.
Benavides, who served as the FITF section chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 election, allegedly followed a similar pattern during his interview with the House Judiciary Committee in September 2023. When asked when he first learned of the ongoing criminal investigation related to the laptop, Benavides reportedly told investigators he learned the details from “the Wikipedia page” while preparing for the hearing. When pressed on whether he had any knowledge of the matter during his tenure at the FBI, he allegedly said, “No.”
Contradicting this testimony, an FBI employee told investigators that he had personally spoken with Benavides about the laptop and discussed reviewing its contents. A congressional staffer who was present for the interviews also told investigators that the testimony from both officials appeared to be “materially untrue.”
The complaint further details an FBI counterintelligence operation known as “Round River.” This operation was reportedly focused on collecting “derogatory informant reporting” on Hunter Biden to flag it as potential Russian disinformation. Prosecutors allege that Floris and Benavides were involved in reviewing and approving a Round River report that scrutinized informant intelligence. Additionally, the pair reportedly helped prepare a script for a “defensive brief” intended to warn individuals they might be the subjects of foreign disinformation. On August 6, 2020, they allegedly provided separate defensive briefings to Senators Charles Grassley and Ron Johnson regarding potential Russian disinformation efforts.
The timing and manner of the prosecution have drawn sharp criticism from defense attorneys and skepticism from the bench. During Friday’s hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui described the charging decision as “strange,” noting that the alleged conduct occurred years ago. He rejected a request by prosecutors to delay a preliminary hearing, instead ordering the parties to return to court on Tuesday morning. “This is the Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads,” Faruqui said. “This will follow them for the rest of their lives.”
Attorneys for Floris issued a forceful statement defending her record, calling her a patriot with nearly 20 years of service. “The DOJ has accused her falsely of a crime on the say-so of politicians, not on the facts,” the statement read. The defense also pointed to the timing of the charges, which arrive just two weeks before the midterm election, characterizing the case as a move to “push a false narrative for a shot at political points.”
Questions have also been raised regarding the prosecution team. James Kirkpatrick, a special assistant U.S. attorney appearing from the Western District of Missouri, represented the Justice Department at the hearing alongside George Massucco, the criminal chief in the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office. The use of out-of-town prosecutors in politically sensitive cases has precedent; the Justice Department previously tapped outside attorneys for the prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. In those instances, sources suggested internal staff had refused to participate due to concerns over the evidence. Both of those cases were eventually dismissed.
Hunter Biden, the subject of the underlying investigations discussed in the testimony, was extensively scrutinized for his business dealings in Ukraine and the contents of a laptop left at a Delaware repair shop. While he was never charged in connection with his overseas business dealings, he was convicted on felony gun charges and pleaded guilty to various tax offenses. He was subsequently pardoned by his father, President Joe Biden, shortly before the president left office.
