“[To reporters in Florida, asked about the charges:] I don't know exactly what it is, but I heard they were arrested or charged. And I heard they were bad people. … Dirty cops, like Comey.
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Ex-FBI Officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides Charged With Lying to Congress: Patel, Pirro, Trump React
Eleven Days Before the Midterms, the Justice Department Charges Two Former Senior FBI Officials With Lying to Congress About the Hunter Biden Investigations — Kash Patel Says It "Strikes at the Heart of Our System," Jeanine Pirro Says "No One Is Above the Law," and Trump Says "I Heard They Were Bad People"
October 24, 2026
What happened▸
On Oct. 23, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia charged two former senior FBI officials, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, with one count each of making false statements to Congress under 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Both surrendered and appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Washington. A statement of facts prepared by the FBI alleges that Floris, who led the bureau's since-dissolved Foreign Influence Task Force as a deputy assistant director from mid-2019 to mid-2022, falsely told the House Judiciary Committee on July 19, 2023, that the task force was not involved in the Hunter Biden investigations, and that Benavides did the same in September 2023. The complaint says the officials took part in classified briefings and sent messages about information uncovered by Sens. Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley.
FBI Director Kash Patel said "documentary evidence, contemporaneous communications, and witness accounts contradict their testimony." Trump, asked about the case in Florida, said he had heard "they were bad people." Floris's attorneys called the charges "nonsense" and said she was "accused … falsely of a crime on the say-so of politicians, not on the facts"; Benavides's attorney, Ron Safer, said the government "has had the information about this for years." Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui questioned prosecutors' decision to proceed by criminal complaint on three-year-old allegations. A preliminary hearing is set for the following Tuesday.
See what your representatives said?
3 Statements
“[On X, announcing the charges:] Floris led the FITF as a Deputy Assistant Director from mid-2019 through mid-2022. … [Floris and Benavides testified that the task force] was not involved in the Hunter Biden investigations [but] documentary evidence, contemporaneous communications, and witness accounts contradict their testimony. … Lying to Congress by senior FBI officials strikes at the heart of our system. No one is above the law.
“[Statement, as her office announced the surrender of the two former FBI officials, alleged to have lied "about their roles in the FBI's Hunter Biden investigations":] Lying to Congress by anyone strikes at the heart of our democratic system. … Today's action makes clear that no one is above the law, and we will hold accountable all who obstruct the truth.