by Kevin Killough
Two former FBI intelligence officials appeared in federal court Friday on charges of making false statements to Congress about their roles in investigating Hunter Biden’s laptop in the closing weeks of the 2020 presidential election cycle.
The ex-agents are Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, who each specialized in foreign election interference, according to the Associated Press.
According to the Justice Department’s Oct. 20 affidavit, Floris and Benavides made “materially false statements” as part of the House Judiciary Committee’s 2023 probe about their involvement in a specialized FBI foreign-influence task force that was investigating Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, and their knowledge of his laptop.
The laptop included information about Hunter Biden’s questionable, overseas business dealings while his father was vice president.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that Floris led the FBI’s since-dissolved Foreign Influence Task Force as deputy assistant director from mid-2019 through mid-2022 and that Benavides was the section chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 election.
“Both testified that the FITF was not involved in the Hunter Biden investigations,” Patel said. “Documentary evidence, contemporaneous communications, and witness accounts contradict their testimony.”
Patel also alleged that Floris was recorded privately claiming to be “running a shadow government” during the 2020 election in her role on the task force.
Floris’s attorney said the ex-agent “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.”
Patel said: “Lying to Congress by senior FBI officials strikes at the heart of our system, … Floris’s attorney denied the allegations and described her as a patriot and suggested the timing – right before the midterms – is suspicious.”
According to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, “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,” she said.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “The weaponization of government goes against the interest of the American people, and public servants, including federal law enforcement officials, cannot lie to Congress and get away with it.”
“The Department of Justice will continue identifying and prosecuting those who break federal law,” he added.
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Kevin Killough is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
Photo “DOJ Logo” by DOJ.
