Washington—FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest of two former agency officials, Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides, accused of lying to the U.S. Congress about their involvement in investigations related to Hunter Biden, son of former President Joe Biden.
According to Patel, the charges stem from an investigation
into the Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF), a now-defunct unit that operated
between 2019 and 2022.
Floris served as the FITF's deputy director from mid-2019 to
mid-2022, while Benavides held the position of section chief from 2019 until
the 2020 presidential election.
The FBI director stated that both former officials testified
before Congress that the FITF had not participated in the Hunter Biden
investigations. However, he stated that documents, communications from that
period, and witness testimony contradict those statements.
Patel also noted that Floris had privately claimed he was
“running a shadow government” during the 2020 election, referring to his role
within the task force.
The official called the false statements a serious breach of
public trust and asserted that no one should be above the law.
He also stated that the FBI dismantled the CR-15 task force,
which he accused of politically misusing the agency’s resources to investigate
adversaries, including current President Donald Trump.