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NATIONAL NEWS

Ex-FBI official who briefed Congress on 2020 foreign interference is charged, her lawyers say

Oct 23, 2026, 7:22 AM | Updated: Oct 24, 2026, 10:18 am

FILE - An FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the field office in Portlan...

FILE - An FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the field office in Portland, Ore., Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
Credit: AP Photo/Jenny Kane

(AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Associated Press's Profile Picture

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS


WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers say a former FBI intelligence official who specialized in foreign election interference has been charged by the Justice Department.

The nature of the charges against Nikki Floris is unclear, but she’s due in court Friday in a case her lawyers described as “nonsense.”

Floris’ lawyers call her a patriot and say she “served our nation as a dedicated FBI intelligence officer for nearly 20 years” but the Justice Department has “accused her falsely of a crime on the say-so of politicians, not on the facts.”

The case was filed 10 days before the Nov. 3 elections and marks the latest in a series of splashy and politically charged investigative actions the Justice Department has undertaken in the run-up to the midterm contests.

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Ex-FBI official who briefed Congress on 2020 foreign interference is charged, her lawyers say