First on CNN: DOJ brings criminal charges against FBI officials it believes hampered Biden corruption investigation
By Katelyn Polantz, Evan Perez, Holmes Lybrand, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN
(CNN) — Two former FBI officials are facing charges for allegedly lying to Congress as part of a probe that focused on whether FBI investigators sought to minimize allegations of Biden family corruption and evidence of Hunter Biden’s laptop, according to people briefed on the matter and court documents.
Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, both former top Washington-based intelligence specialists, are charged with one count of making a false statement. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said in court on Friday the charges are related to “Hunter Biden’s laptop and allegations around that.”
The charges relate to statements Floris and Benavides made to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023 as Republicans questioned an FBI election-interference task force’s involvement in the Hunter Biden investigations.
A charging document unsealed in DC’s federal district court Friday accuses the pair of “concealing [the task force’s] engagement with and communications about the Hunter Biden investigations and impeding the congressional investigation.”
DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced the charges in a social media post on Friday, saying the alleged false statements were “about their roles on the Foreign Influence Task Force during the 2020 election.”
Pirro added that “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.”
According to Pirro and the criminal complaint, Benavides then told Congress he learned about the investigation into Hunter Biden’s laptop from Wikipedia.
Republicans have repeatedly criticized the FBI for its early handling of investigations into Hunter Biden as part of long-running theories about corruption in the Biden family and so-called “deep state” right-wing narratives about the federal government.
The two defendants made their first appearance in the federal district court in DC Friday morning. They will not be detained as they await trial.
A hearing for the former FBI officials is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Faruqui noted that both agents have “sparkling backgrounds” and told prosecutors the “alleged context happened years ago” and noted the prosecutors should be ready to move forward with the case given that they “brought this serious charge against two decorated agents.”
The judge also noted the charge was “rare” and made note that it was charged by complaint from prosecutors, and not approved by a grand jury.
Faruqui also said on the bench Friday the charges were “straight forward” and that the agents, with otherwise sterling records, are now charged in federal court, which will “follow them for the rest of their lives”
FBI Director Kash Patel said Friday that the charges are the result of an investigation into the since-dissolved FBI Foreign Influence Task Force.
He also says Floris is “on record privately claiming” to be running a shadow government.
“Floris led the FITF as a Deputy Assistant Director from mid-2019 through mid-2022. Benavides was the FITF Section Chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 election,” he said on X. “Both testified that the FITF was not involved in the Hunter Biden investigations. Documentary evidence, contemporaneous communications, and witness accounts contradict their testimony.”
“Lying to Congress by senior FBI officials strikes at the heart of our system. No one is above the law,” he continued.
Patel noted how during his time leading the FBI, the investigative squad known as CR-15 was dismantled. Patel has repeatedly been attacked for these firings because FBI officials lost their jobs for working on assignments related to past probes into Trump.
Charges come less than two weeks before Election Day
Defense attorneys for Floris, in a statement following her appearance in court, said she is being falsely accused “on the say-so of politicians” and “is a patriot.”
“It’s no coincidence the government is filing these nonsense charges now, years later, on the eve of an election,” the lawyers said in their statement.
“The government’s reasons for charging Nikki are as transparent as they are unjust: to push a false narrative for a shot at political politics.”
The charges come less than two weeks before Election Day. Biden’s son Hunter was ultimately convicted of federal tax and gun charges then pardoned by his father around Thanksgiving in 2024.
And one conservative politician who is running for Michigan governor has repeatedly accused Floris of running a “shadow government” against Trump in 2020.
Trump and Republicans have accused the Bidens of corruption, especially after IRS whistleblowers claimed the FBI had slow-walked an investigation into Hunter Biden while his father was in office.
A special counsel thoroughly investigated the Republicans’ allegations against Hunter Biden and didn’t recommend any additional charges past the gun and tax charges. A separate government informant was charged by that special counsel, David Weiss, for providing false information alleging bribery in the Biden family.
This story was updated with additional reporting from court.
CNN’s Caitlin McCormack contributed to this report.
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