The FBI failed to produce to Congress a subpoenaed file containing allegations of a criminal bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, dating back to his time as vice president, and a foreign national, GOP lawmakers announced on Wednesday.
After the deadline had passed, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) released a joint statement with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) saying they plan to “follow up” with the bureau and expect compliance with the subpoena seeking a specific FD-1023 form generated by the FBI.
“It’s clear from the FBI’s response that the unclassified record the Oversight Committee subpoenaed exists, but they are refusing to provide it to the Committee,” Comer said. “We’ve asked the FBI to not only provide this record, but to also inform us what it did to investigate these allegations. The FBI has failed to do both.”
The FBI response mentioned by Comer came in the form of a six-page letter from the Acting Assistant Director for Congressional Affairs Christopher Dunham. It does not confirm the existence of the file sought by congressional investigators but does provide “background” explaining the importance of “confidentiality interests” while expressing a commitment to continue working with lawmakers to resolve the matter.
“It is critical to the integrity of the entire criminal justice process and to the fulfillment of our law enforcement duties that FBI avoid revealing information — including unverified or incomplete information — that could harm investigations, prejudice prosecutions or judicial proceedings, unfairly violate privacy or reputational interests, or create misimpressions in the public,” Dunham wrote, according to the letter published by Punchbowl News.
An FBI spokesperson provided “context” on the FD-1023 form when pressed for comment by The Daily Wire.
“An FD-1023 form is used by FBI agents to record unverified reporting by a confidential human source,” the FBI spokesperson said. “Documenting the information does not validate it, establish its credibility, or weigh it against other information verified by the FBI.”
“Revealing unverified or possibly incomplete information could harm investigations, prejudice prosecutions or judicial proceedings, unfairly violate privacy or reputations, create misimpressions in the public, or potentially identify individuals who provide information to law enforcement, placing their physical safety at risk,” the spokesperson added. “Information from confidential human sources and members of the public is critical to the work of the FBI and we are also committed to protecting the confidentiality of anyone who comes forward.”
Although specifics about the allegations have not been divulged publicly, Comer and Grassley said whistleblower disclosures indicate the file describes an alleged Biden scheme involving the exchange of money for policy decisions.
“While the FBI has failed to produce the specific document by the subpoena deadline, their offer to provide an accommodation process in response to our legitimate request indicates the document is real,” Grassley said. “So the question remains, what did the FBI do to investigate very serious allegations from an apparent trusted FBI source implicating then-Vice President Biden? Today’s letter from the FBI raises additional questions, including whether the FBI has an open investigation based on these allegations. The American people pay the FBI’s salaries, and they’re entitled to a fulsome response.”
The standoff comes on the heels of Just the News reporting on emails this week that show Bud Cummins, a U.S. attorney-turned-lobbyist, wrote to the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan in 2018, sharing that Ukraine’s then-Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko was willing to share alleged evidence a possible corruption scheme involving Biden, his son Hunter Biden, and Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings at a time when the elder Biden was vice president. In addition, Comer and other Republican lawmakers shared evidence on Wednesday morning showing that at least nine members of Biden’s family took in as much as $10 million from operatives in China and Romania — also while Biden served as President Barack Obama’s vice president.
Over the weekend, Comer urged the Justice Department not to indict Hunter Biden until his press conference on Wednesday because he might divulge information federal prosecutors do not yet possess. Hunter Biden, who announced he was facing a criminal investigation into his tax affairs soon after the 2020 election, has said he expects to be cleared of wrongdoing. President Biden, now about two weeks into his re-election campaign, has distanced himself from Hunter’s business dealings and told MSNBC last week that his son has “done nothing wrong.”
Democrats have accused their GOP counterparts of ignoring alleged misconduct by former President Donald Trump while trying to dig up “dirt” on the Biden family. The White House has also shot back at Republicans in Congress. “House Republicans have shown no evidence of any policy decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. national interests,” tweeted White House spokesperson Ian Sams on Wednesday. “That’s because they can’t.”