Patel Has Them Arrested - Democrats Warned Him Not To Do This
The Justice Department has charged two former senior FBI officials with allegedly lying to Congress about their knowledge of bureau discussions involving Hunter Biden.
Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides each face one count related to testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in 2023. Prosecutors allege that their answers understated what they knew about the FBI’s work and its response to coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop. The charges are allegations; neither has been convicted.
Both officials served in the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, created to counter foreign efforts to interfere in U.S. elections. Republicans criticized the task force’s handling of warnings about Hunter Biden and the laptop story. The bureau dissolved the unit in 2025.
The case centers on messages and other records prosecutors say conflict with the former officials’ congressional testimony. The complaint alleges that Floris circulated a Senate report on Hunter Biden’s business activities to Benavides and that the two later discussed The New York Post’s October 2020 laptop story. Floris allegedly denied knowing the report’s contents, while both are accused of minimizing their involvement in the FBI’s response.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the case was about accountability.
“Lying to Congress by senior FBI officials strikes at the heart of our system. No one is above the law.”
The complaint does not charge the former officials with suppressing the laptop story to protect Joe Biden, nor does it establish criminal wrongdoing by the Biden family. It focuses on whether Floris and Benavides made false statements to Congress about their own knowledge and work.
The underlying dispute dates to 2020, when Republican Sens. Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley examined Hunter Biden’s business relationships, including his association with Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Floris and Benavides briefed the senators in August about intelligence warnings concerning a possible Russian influence operation.
Their September report examined Hunter Biden’s business dealings but did not accuse Joe Biden of corruption. The former vice president’s support for replacing Ukraine’s prosecutor aligned with a policy also backed by other Western governments seeking stronger anti-corruption efforts, according to The New York Times.
In October 2020, the Post published material it said came from a laptop Hunter Biden had left at a repair shop. Social media platforms restricted the story after earlier FBI warnings about possible Russian disinformation. Republicans later criticized the bureau for not publicly clarifying what it knew about the laptop. The FBI has said that possessing the device did not allow it to authenticate every file obtained by the newspaper.
Floris’ attorney, Margaret Donovan, called her client “a patriot” with nearly 20 years of service and argued the accusation relied on politicians’ claims rather than facts. Benavides’ attorney, Ronald Safer, also called the case political and defended his client’s record.
The case was filed by criminal complaint rather than indictment, meaning a grand jury has not yet approved charges. At Friday’s initial court appearance, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui questioned the unusual procedure and set a preliminary hearing for Tuesday, when prosecutors are expected to present evidence supporting probable cause.
The prosecution revives a long-running Republican demand for answers about the FBI’s handling of the laptop controversy. Whether the government can prove the former officials knowingly misled Congress will now be tested in court.