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Justice Department Charges FBI Officials With Lying to Congress

By Drooid · Oct 25, 2026, 6:00 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

U.S. Justice Department charged FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides with lying to Congress.
Nikki Floris led the FBI Foreign Influence Task Force while Bradley Benavides was its section chief in 2019-20.
The complaint says Nikki Floris managed the FBI’s laptop response while Bradley Benavides claimed he learned of it from Wikipedia.
Charges were filed in late October, less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

History

Historical Context

The 1974 Watergate scandal, culminating in President Richard Nixon’s resignation after the Saturday Night Massacre, exposed high-level deception toward Congress. The Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General later reported that 12 FBI agents received $3.2 million in unauthorized overtime during the investigation. Similarly, today the Justice Department charged FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides for allegedly lying to Congress about the 2019-20 Foreign Influence Task Force. The precedent set by Watergate’s congressional hearings warns that repeated false testimony can erode institutional trust and prompt stricter oversight reforms.

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Story summary

U.S. Justice Department charged FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides with lying to Congress.
Nikki Floris led the FBI Foreign Influence Task Force while Bradley Benavides was its section chief in 2019-20.
The complaint says Nikki Floris managed the FBI’s laptop response while Bradley Benavides claimed he learned of it from Wikipedia.
Charges were filed in late October, less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

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