Federal prosecutors say a former FBI official’s explanation of how he learned about Hunter Biden’s laptop does not match what investigators found.
Bradley Benavides reportedly told Congress that he first became aware of the laptop controversy through Wikipedia.
The Justice Department says it holds evidence that he had already discussed the story with other FBI personnel.
Benavides and Nikki Cole Floris surrendered to federal authorities on Friday. Both previously served on the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force.
Both now face criminal charges tied to testimony they gave lawmakers in 2023. The charges come with clear boundaries.
They do not establish that either defendant interfered with the 2020 election, and they do not establish that either one improperly influenced the investigations connected to Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden.
Both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrests and identified both defendants as former members of the task force. The bureau has since dissolved that unit.
“This morning the FBI arrested two former FBI members of the now dissolved Foreign Influence Task Force, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, both of whom allegedly lied to Congress in 2023 on matters regarding investigations related to the 2020 election,” Patel said.
According to the Justice Department, investigators gathered evidence that contradicts statements both former officials made while lawmakers questioned them.
The department has framed the allegations around what each person told Congress.
Prosecutors level a similar claim against Floris.
They say she discussed Hunter Biden with task force colleagues, even though she allegedly gave Congress a different account of those exchanges.
Patel also pointed to a statement attributed to one of the two defendants.
“One of these individuals is on record privately claiming to be ‘running a shadow government’ during the 2020 election. As we’ve said repeatedly: weaponization will never be tolerated at this FBI.”
Patel did not say which defendant made the remark. The information available for this report does not explain when or where it was made.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro also addressed the case, and she issued a warning to current and former officials.
“Lying to Congress by anyone strikes at the heart of our democratic system, but 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.
She continued with a second statement.
“When senior officials entrusted with safeguarding our nation’s security choose deception over duty, they undermine the very institutions they swore to uphold. Today’s action makes clear that no one is above the law, and we will hold accountable all who obstruct the truth.”
Attorneys for Floris reject the charges. They argue that prosecutors acted for political reasons, and they point to the timing, which falls shortly before the midterm elections.
“Nikki Floris is a patriot. She served our nation as a dedicated FBI intelligence officer for nearly 20 years. Yet today, 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,” her attorneys said.
The information available for this report includes no statement from Benavides or his legal team.
The case now moves into the federal court system. Prosecutors must show what each former official knew, what each told lawmakers, and whether those statements were knowingly false.
Defense attorneys will have the chance to challenge that evidence.
The arrests direct fresh attention to how the FBI handled politically sensitive investigations linked to the 2020 presidential election.
They also mark an escalation in the Justice Department’s review of congressional testimony about one of the most contentious FBI inquiries in recent years.
