WASHINGTON — Two former high-ranking FBI officials, who have long been targets of intense criticism from allies of President Donald Trump, have been charged with allegedly lying to Congress regarding the bureau’s investigation into Hunter Biden.
A court docket confirmed that Nikki Floris, the former deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, and Bradley Benavides, a former colleague focused on foreign influence, are facing one count of a rarely prosecuted criminal offense. The charge, which legal experts note can be difficult to prove, centers on their testimony regarding the Foreign Influence Task Force and their specific roles in the sprawling investigation into the son of former President Joe Biden.
Hunter Biden was previously investigated, charged, and convicted of various gun and tax crimes before receiving a presidential pardon from his father shortly after the elder Biden left office.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced via social media that both Floris and Benavides surrendered to authorities Friday morning. The charges arrive amid a highly charged political atmosphere as the administration pursues investigations into long-standing grievances regarding the bureau’s conduct.
The reaction from Floris’ legal team was immediate and pointed. Attorneys Margaret Donovan, Chris Mattei, Mary Dohrmann, and Kyle R. Freeny issued a statement characterizing Floris as a dedicated “patriot” who served the nation for nearly two decades. They alleged the charges are a politically motivated fabrication, stating, “The DOJ has accused her falsely of a crime on the say-so of politicians, not on the facts. It’s no coincidence the government is filing these nonsense charges now, years later, on the eve of an election.”
The case is currently proceeding via a criminal complaint, meaning the pair have not yet been indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. Such proceedings have proven difficult for the current administration; earlier this year, local federal grand jurors famously rejected an attempt to indict six sitting Democratic members of Congress in a case pushed by the White House.
Floris, who joined the FBI in 2005 as an intelligence analyst, eventually rose to the counterterrorism division and served as the FBI’s security lead for the 2020 presidential election. Benavides similarly held roles involving election security and Chinese intelligence threats.
Republicans have repeatedly accused the duo of “burying” reports regarding foreign influence to protect former FBI leadership, a claim that Floris’ legal team and intelligence officials have consistently rejected as standard administrative protocol for handling unverified intelligence. As the legal battle begins, the case is poised to become a central flashpoint in the ongoing political conflict between the administration and the career intelligence community.
An attorney for Benavides was not yet listed on the public court docket as of Friday afternoon.
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