EXCLUSIVE — A new letter from a government watchdog urged Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to review the department’s contracts with Microsoft, citing the company’s employment of a former FBI official who once said she was “basically running a shadow government across the FBI.”
asserted
she → urge → FBI
Democracy Restored, a self-described nonpartisan watchdog, sent Mullin a letter Tuesday asking the Department of Homeland Security to examine Microsoft’s existing and pending contracts, assess whether former FBI official Nikki Floris has a role connected to DHS work, and take action if the department identifies security concerns, according to a copy obtained by the Washington Examiner.
uncertain
department → describe → Examiner
Floris gained public attention in mid-July after President Donald Trump‘s speech on U.S. election integrity issues, where he referenced a former FBI official who said she was running a “shadow government” to keep intelligence concerning alleged Chinese election interference from becoming known.
asserted
she → gain → interference
Trump did not identify Floris by name in the speech, though her identity emerged in the White House’s records release following the July 16 speech.
asserted
identity → identify → speech
The group’s request outlines concerns surrounding the bureau’s handling of a 2020 intelligence report, which contained an unverified source allegation but concerned claims that Chinese officials were producing fraudulent U.S. driver’s licenses for a mail-in ballot scheme.
uncertain
officials → outline → scheme
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, notably revealed last year that FBI headquarters recalled the report shortly after its dissemination and identified Floris, then the FBI’s election-security lead, as among the headquarters officials involved in the recall.
asserted
headquarters → reveal → recall
The committee said FBI officials had raised concerns that the report could conflict with then-FBI Director Christopher Wray‘s congressional testimony, where he claimed he would “investigate seriously” and “aggressively” any allegations of a “coordinated national voter fraud effort.”
uncertain
he → say → effort
The released records also included a message attributed to Floris in which she wrote that she was “basically running a shadow government across the FBI” in reference to the bureau’s decision to recall the report.
asserted
she → release → report
Floris, a former senior counterintelligence official, later served as intelligence analyst in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Intelligence Division.
asserted
Floris → serve → Division
She now works as Microsoft’s director of insider risk, which Democracy Restored argued is a potential risk to national security information in and of itself.
asserted
Restored → work → itself
“National security includes data security, full stop,” Democracy Restored Director Houston Keene said in a statement.
asserted
Keene → include → statement
“Given Ms. Floris’ alleged withholding of critical election information from the President of the United States and claim of running a ‘shadow government,’ as well as Microsoft’s recent issues using China-based engineers to work on Pentagon data, serious scrutiny needs to be given to Microsoft’s contracts with the federal government.”
uncertain
scrutiny → give → government
Microsoft said in July 2025 that it would stop using China-based engineering teams to provide technical assistance for Defense Department cloud services, following reports that the company had used the arrangement under U.S.-based supervision.
asserted
company → say → supervision
In its letter, Democracy Restored asks DHS to determine the nature and sensitivity of systems, data, and facilities involved in the department’s Microsoft contracts; assess Floris’s role, if any, in DHS-related work; and consider terminating, suspending, or conditioning relevant contracts if a review finds concerns.
asserted
review → ask → concerns
“An official who allegedly withheld China-related election intelligence from the president of the United States now occupies a role charged with judging insider threats at a federal government vendor,” the letter states.
uncertain
letter → withhold → vendor
DHS and Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment.
asserted
DHS → respond → comment
Floris could not be reached for comment.
uncertain
Floris → reach → comment
You can read the letter in full below:
asserted
You → read → letter
The Aporia
