President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden step out of a bookstore while shopping in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Nov. 29, 2024. (Mandel Ngan – AFP / Getty Images)
By Joe Saunders October 23, 2026 at 9:16am
In a statement Friday that was light on details but heavy on implications, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that two former senior FBI officials had been arrested for allegedly lying to Congress.
The officials were identified as Nikki Cole Floris, who was a deputy assistant director and leader of the FBI’s now-defunct Foreign Influence Task Force, and Bradley Benavides, who served for a time as section chief for the task force.
And their lies allegedly centered on the FBI’s handling of former first son Hunter Biden.
Two former senior FBI officials, Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides, were taken into custody today on charges of allegedly lying to Congress about their involvement in the FBI’s investigations into Hunter Biden. The charges stem from an ongoing investigation into the since-dissolved FBI Foreign Influence Task Force. 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. Both testified that the FITF was not involved in the Hunter Biden investigations. Documentary evidence, contemporaneous communications, and witness accounts contradict their testimony. Floris is also on record privately claiming to be “running a shadow government” during the 2020 election in her role on the FITF. Lying to Congress by senior FBI officials strikes at the heart of our system. No one is above the law. The FBI has already dismantled the corrupt CR-15 squad that engaged in political weaponization targeting their opponents, including President Trump. Thanks to @TheJusticeDept @FBIKansasCity and @USAttyPirro. -DKP🇺🇸
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 23, 2026
“Both testified that the FITF was not involved in the Hunter Biden investigations,” Patel wrote.
“Documentary evidence, contemporaneous communications, and witness accounts contradict their testimony.”
Both officials surrendered themselves on Friday morning, according to the Associated Press. They also had their first appearance in federal court.
Patel’s post did not describe the pair’s alleged crimes, but the now-dissolved Foreign Influence Task Force has been the subject of numerous revelations since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
In August, declassified documents reportedly showed the task force had worked to protect the Biden family from allegations about involvement in corruption in Ukraine.
Hunter Biden famously enjoyed a lucrative position on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma between 2014 and 2019, despite having no background in the energy business or even the ability to speak Ukrainian.
Patel noted that documents have shown Floris bragging ahead of the 2020 election that she was “running a shadow government” within the FBI.
At that point, the FBI had been in possession of Hunter Biden’s notorious laptop computer for almost a year — a month before its leak to the New York Post made it a political bombshell.
Patel’s post, without disclosing particulars about any criminal case, clearly sought to emphasize how serious he considered the matter.
Do you believe the FBI’s actions regarding Hunter Biden were politically motivated?
“Lying to Congress by senior FBI officials strikes at the heart of our system. No one is above the law,” he wrote.
He then tied the case to the FBI’s Washington Field Office CR-15 unit, which was revealed in May to have been preparing to pursue action against President Donald Trump after he leaves office and is a private citizen again.
“The FBI has already dismantled the corrupt CR-15 squad that engaged in political weaponization targeting their opponents, including President Trump,” Patel wrote.
Patel’s post drew applause on social media.
@FBIDirectorKash This is exactly what I voted for. Thank you!
— I’m that suburban mom Trump voter (@GinaBritton14) October 23, 2026
Great news. It’s about time. Niki Floris was “running a shadow government “ by her own admission.
— Charles Grazioli (@GrazioliCh15497) October 23, 2026
Lots to go… pic.twitter.com/5ytO0Phky0
— JamesFox (@SoCalSkydiver71) October 23, 2026
In a statement, Floris’ attorneys implied the charges are politically motivated, since they are coming before the November midterm elections.
“Nikki Floris is a patriot. She served our nation as a dedicated FBI intelligence officer for nearly 20 years,” the statement said, according to the Associated Press.
“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.”
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Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro desk editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015.
Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015. Largely a product of Catholic schools, who discovered Ayn Rand in college, Joe is a lifelong newspaperman who learned enough about the trade to be skeptical of every word ever written. He was also lucky enough to have a job that didn’t need a printing press to do it.
Birthplace
Philadelphia
Nationality
American
