Prosecutors charge two former FBI officials over testimony on Hunter Biden

Federal prosecutors charged former FBI officials Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides with making false statements to Congress about the bureau’s investigations into Hunter Biden, WJLA reported. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said both officials surrendered after a criminal complaint was filed. Each faces one count; the charges are allegations, not a finding of guilt.

The complaint says Floris and Benavides told the House Judiciary Committee in 2023 that the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force had no involvement in investigations into Hunter Biden. That account of their testimony is central to the allegations that they made false statements to Congress.

The complaint describes Floris as having discussed the investigations for more than a year. It says Benavides regularly discussed Hunter Biden’s laptop with FBI officials before the 2020 election. It also recounts Benavides’s statement that he first learned the FBI had the laptop through a Wikipedia article in 2023.

Floris led the Foreign Influence Task Force as a deputy assistant director from 2019 to 2022. Benavides served as a section chief from 2019 through the 2020 election. Their former positions place them within the task force’s leadership or management during periods described in the complaint, while the alleged false statements concern what they told the congressional committee.

WJLA identified Floris as 46 and from Alexandria, and Benavides as 56 and from South Carolina. The outlet reported that the two surrendered on October 23, 2026, after the complaint charged them. It did not report a court finding on whether either official is guilty.

The Atlantic characterized the indictment as “Very Suspicious,” while Al Jazeera described the charges as connected to the Hunter Biden laptop probe. The Wall Street Journal’s headline framed the case as charges of lying to Congress about the probe; Demokratis.co.id described it as a Justice Department action over the inquiry.

Those headlines do not provide additional details about the complaint or the officials’ positions. The complaint’s account of the 2023 committee testimony and the officials’ earlier work is the stated basis for the charges. The next documented step is the criminal case following their surrender; no hearing date or court decision is identified in the account.