Two Former FBI Officials Charged With Lying to Congress About Hunter Biden Investigations
ANALYSIS · October 23, 2026
Slug: two-former-fbi-officials-charged-lying-congress-hunter-biden
Package note: This Analysis covers a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia dated October 23, 2026, and the two documents DOJ posted with it: the criminal complaint and the FBI agent’s statement of facts (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Case No. 26-mj-185, signed Oct. 20, 2026). A criminal complaint is an accusation, not a finding of guilt. In DOJ’s words, “every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
Primary sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia (October 23, 2026): https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/two-former-fbi-officials-charged-lying-congress-about-hunter-biden-investigations
- Criminal complaint as posted by DOJ: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/media/1468011/dl?inline=
- Statement of facts (FBI affidavit, 27 pages) as posted by DOJ: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/media/1468056/dl?inline=
- FBI announcement of Floris’s 2022 appointment as Intelligence Analyst in Charge, Washington Field Office (career background): https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/nikki-l-floris-named-intelligence-analyst-in-charge-of-the-intelligence-division-of-the-washington-field-office
- Statute: 18 U.S.C. § 1001: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section1001&num=0&edition=prelim
Two former senior FBI officials, Nikki Cole Floris, 46, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Bradley Benavides, 56, of Aiken, South Carolina, surrendered on October 23, 2026, on arrest warrants. A criminal complaint charges each with one count of making false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch, 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2). Prosecutors allege that both told the House Judiciary Committee in 2023 that they and the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) had no involvement in the Bureau’s Hunter Biden investigations. The FBI affidavit says documents, messages and witness accounts contradict that testimony. The complaint caption lists Floris as “Nicole Floris.”
Core Tension
DOJ says the case comes from “an ongoing investigation into the since-dissolved FBI Foreign Influence Task Force,” which the release says “led the FBI’s efforts to secure the 2020 election from foreign malign influence.” The affidavit alleges a specific purpose: that the two made their statements “for the purpose of concealing FITF’s engagement with and communications about the Hunter Biden investigations and impeding the congressional investigation.” That is the government’s allegation, and no court has tested it. The release does not say whether either defendant has entered a plea, who represents them, or what release conditions were set. FBI Director Kash Patel said in the release that “one of these individuals is on record privately claiming to be ‘running a shadow government’ during the 2020 election.” He did not say which defendant, and that quote does not appear in the 27-page statement of facts.
What the complaint and release say
| Element | What DOJ states |
|---|---|
| Court / case | U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Case No. 26-mj-185; complaint signed Oct. 20, 2026, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Sharbaugh |
| Complainant | Byron Militello, FBI Special Agent |
| Defendants | Nikki Cole Floris (“Nicole Floris” in the caption), 46, Alexandria, Va.; Bradley Benavides, 56, Aiken, S.C. |
| Former roles | 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.” |
| Charge (each) | False statements to Congress, 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2) |
| Maximum penalty | Not stated in the release. The statute sets a maximum of 5 years in prison and a fine. |
| Offense dates / place | July 19, 2023 (Floris) and Sept. 28, 2023 (Benavides); transcribed interviews at the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. |
| Committee | U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary |
| Warning given | The affidavit says each acknowledged on the record that knowingly false testimony could be prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 |
| Arrest | Both surrendered on arrest warrants on Oct. 23, 2026 |
| FITF status | The affidavit says FITF “was disbanded in 2025” |
What each is alleged to have said, and what the affidavit says instead
Floris (July 19, 2023), as quoted in the affidavit from her transcribed interview: - Asked “Did you have any involvement in the Hunter Biden investigation?” she answered “I did not.” - Asked whether there was “ever a discussion at the FITF about Hunter Biden,” she answered “No. At least not with me,” and agreed she had “no personal knowledge of Hunter Biden ever being the subject of any discussion at the FITF while you ran that entity.” - On the laptop: “I—I don’t have any details about the laptop.” - Asked whether she had seen the September 2020 Johnson/Grassley Senate report before the interview: “Not to my knowledge.”
The affidavit alleges that she presented classified material at an Aug. 14, 2020, FITF call with the Hunter Biden case team. It says she circulated the Johnson/Grassley report the morning it was released (“Just dropped this am”), approved the FITF’s “Round River” interim report, and helped handle the FBI’s response to the laptop story in October 2020. It also says she discussed the case, under the FBI code name “Sportsman,” with subordinates through September 2021. A former FBI Criminal Division unit chief (“FBI Employee 1”) told agents in October 2026 that he “had routine and regular discussions with FLORIS regarding the investigations into Hunter Biden.”
Benavides (Sept. 28, 2023), as quoted in the affidavit: - Asked whether the FBI had the laptop: “Only because of the Wikipedia article, my understanding is, according to that article, the FBI is in possession of the laptop.” - Asked whether he knew from his FBI role that the FBI had taken the laptop around December 2019: “Absolutely not.” - Asked whether he discussed the FBI’s possession of the laptop with anyone in the Criminal Division: “I did not.”
The affidavit alleges that on Oct. 14, 2020, the day the New York Post story ran, he wrote to a subordinate, “Indeed…I’ve spoken to [FBI Employee 1].” It says that on Oct. 22, 2020, he sent FBI Employee 1 a meeting invitation titled “To Discuss Laptop,” and at that meeting the laptop was discussed “in detail.” It also cites a subordinate’s own House testimony: “I would certainly say that Brad Benavides was aware” the laptop was real.
Claims check
| Claim | Assessment | Receipt |
|---|---|---|
| Floris and Benavides are each charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2) | Stated in complaint | Complaint, “Code Section” |
| Both surrendered on Oct. 23, 2026 | Stated in release | Release, first paragraph |
| Floris led FITF as Deputy Assistant Director, mid-2019 to mid-2022; Benavides was Section Chief, mid-2019 through the 2020 election | Stated in release and affidavit | Release; affidavit ¶ 6 |
| Their testimony was materially false | Allegation (not proven) | Affidavit ¶¶ 1, 44–45 |
| They lied to conceal FITF’s role and impede Congress | Allegation (not proven) | Affidavit ¶ 2 |
| A congressional staffer said the answers “influenced the Committee’s investigation significantly” | Stated in affidavit | Affidavit ¶ 41 (staffer not named) |
| One defendant privately claimed to be “running a shadow government” in 2020 | FBI Director’s statement; not in the affidavit | Patel quote in release |
| The maximum sentence is 5 years | Stated in statute, not in the release | 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a) |
Context / what to watch
- Indictment: A complaint is a preliminary charge. Watch whether a grand jury returns an indictment, and on what counts.
- Timing: Prosecutors filed the complaint within five years of the 2023 interviews, inside the general federal statute of limitations.
- Ongoing probe: DOJ calls the FITF investigation “ongoing.” The release does not name anyone else.
- Next steps: Court appearances, any plea, defense counsel and any statement from the defendants.
Reviewed and checked against the DOJ release, the complaint and the statement of facts · Kelvic Report · 2026-10-26 · for /analysis/two-former-fbi-officials-charged-lying-congress-hunter-biden