The Department of Justice has escalated its case against two former senior FBI officials accused of lying to Congress about their involvement in investigations connected to Hunter Biden. Prosecutors have added [1] an obstruction charge, sharply raising the stakes in a case centered on testimony given to lawmakers.
A superseding criminal complaint filed this week accuses Nicole Floris and Bradley Benavides of corruptly obstructing a House Judiciary Committee investigation. Floris formerly served as deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, while Benavides was the task force’s former section chief.
The new count alleges that Floris and Benavides gave false testimony in 2023 to conceal the task force’s engagement with matters involving Hunter Biden. Prosecutors also contend their testimony impeded the congressional investigation.
According to the affidavit supporting the charges, Floris testified that she “did not” have any involvement in the Hunter Biden investigation. She also claimed “no personal knowledge of Hunter Biden ever being the subject of any discussion at the FITF.”
Benavides offered lawmakers a similarly sweeping denial. He said he learned that the FBI possessed the laptop only after reading a Wikipedia article and insisted he had “absolutely not” known about it while serving at the task force.
The affidavit presents a considerably different account. Floris allegedly circulated a Senate report that mentioned a possible Burisma bribe, approved internal assessments, and helped manage the FBI’s response after the New York Post published its laptop story in October 2020.
Prosecutors also allege Benavides was involved in discussions surrounding the laptop. According to the Justice Department, he spoke with colleagues about the laptop on the same day the story appeared and approved talking points suggesting that it could be Russian disinformation.
A document included in a collection of declassified files released by the White House in July added another striking detail. In a chat log, Floris claimed, “I am basically running a shadow government inside the FBI right now.”
JUST IN: DOJ adds an obstruction count to its charges against former FBI officials Nicole Floris and Bradley Benavides.
https://t.co/vwClZyYhYX https://t.co/vkXsxSbvXh
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) October 27, 2026 [2]
The obstruction allegation follows earlier charges that Floris and Benavides lied to Congress about their roles in investigations related to Hunter Biden. Both had testified that the Foreign Influence Task Force was not involved in those investigations.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced the earlier charges and delivered a blunt warning about senior FBI officials who allegedly misled Congress. Her statement made clear that a federal badge does not place anyone beyond accountability.
“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.
Pirro also said, “When senior officials entrusted with safeguarding our nation’s security choose deception over duty, they undermine the very institutions they swore to uphold.”
This morning, two former senior FBI officials, Nikki Floris, 46, and Bradley Benavides, 56, surrendered on arrest warrants after being charged with lying to Congress about their roles on the Foreign Influence Task Force during the 2020 election. Floris and Benavides allegedly lied to Congress about their roles in the FBI’s Hunter Biden investigations, with one claiming they only learned about it from Wikipedia – despite evidence showing their involvement in helping shape the public narrative about Hunter Biden’s laptop right before the election.
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. 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.
— US Attorney Pirro (@USAttyPirro) October 23, 2026 [3]
The former officials remain entitled to the presumption of innocence. At the same time, prosecutors are entitled to investigate whether the agents misled Americans concerning events surrounding the 2020 election.
Attorneys for Floris and Benavides have forcefully rejected the government’s allegations. They contend that their clients are being subjected to political persecution, pushing back against the charges as the case moves through its opening stages.
“The government’s reasons for charging Nikki are as transparent as they are unjust: to push a false narrative for a shot at political points,” Floris’ lawyers said in a statement.
Benavides’ attorney called the charges a “disgrace” and described his client as a “true patriot who devoted his career to protecting this country and its people.” Those denials now stand against the documentary evidence, communications, and witness accounts prosecutors say contradict the pair’s congressional testimony.
Floris and Benavides made their initial court appearance this past Friday. Because prosecutors charged them through a criminal complaint, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., must return an indictment before the case can proceed.
The new obstruction count places even greater scrutiny on what senior officials at the task force knew about Hunter Biden-related matters and what they later told Congress. The legal process will determine whether prosecutors can prove that the pair crossed the line from denial into criminal deception.