On Monday, the top two lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee finally had the chance to review an FBI report brought to light by a whistleblower that contains information on allegations then-Vice President Biden engaged in a criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national.
After FBI Director Christopher Wray refused to comply with a subpoena from Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY), he was threatened with contempt charges from Congress. He tried offering lawmakers the opportunity to view the document at the FBI's headquarters, but Comer didn't compromise and Wray finally caved, somewhat, late last week, agreeing to bring the document to Capitol Hill to be reviewed and briefed to lawmakers.
However, after viewing the document, Chairman Comer and Oversight Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) didn't agree on what they saw, raising even more questions.
In a statement, Comer said that "FBI officials confirmed that the unclassified, FBI-generated record has not been disproven and stated several times the information contained within it is currently being used in an ongoing investigation." Comer added that the "confidential human source who provided information about then-Vice President Biden being involved in a criminal bribery scheme is a trusted, highly credible information who has been used by the FBI for years. These are facts and no amount of spin, and frankly lies, from the White House or Congressional Democrats can change this information," Comer emphasized.
Still, the FBI refused to turn the report over to the Oversight Committee, leading Comer to double-down on his previous threat to hold Director Wray in contempt of Congress.
.@RepJamesComer confirms the existence of the long sought-after "unclassified FBI-generated record" regarding then-VP Joe Biden potentially being involved in a "criminal bribery scheme."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 5, 2023
The FBI refused to give the record to Congress, and Comer will now initiate Contempt of… pic.twitter.com/8iEGYcFpPj
“At the briefing, the FBI again refused to hand over the unclassified record to the custody of the House Oversight Committee and we will now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings," Comer said in his statement. "Given the severity and complexity of the allegations contained within this record, Congress must investigate further," he noted.
"Americans have lost trust in the FBI’s ability to enforce the law impartially and demand answers, transparency, and accountability," Comer continued. "The Oversight Committee must follow the facts for the American people and ensure the federal government is held accountable."
🚨🚨🚨
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) June 5, 2023
The FBI confirmed the unclassified record alleging then-VP Biden engaged in a $5 million bribery scheme is from a highly credible informant & being used in an ongoing investigation.
The FBI refused to hand over the doc.
I will hold Director Wray in contempt of Congress pic.twitter.com/2p1fNdmBJ1
Comer's counterpart — Ranking Member Raskin — however, seemed to be trying his best to spin the reality into a less severe version of what Comer described, as seen in this side-by-side of the two lawmakers' comments after reviewing the report:
Comer: They confirmed there’s an ongoing investigation
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 5, 2023
Raskin: I have not heard that this is part of any ongoing investigation
Comer: Highly credible source
Raskin: It is not the confidential source who is the origin of the claim pic.twitter.com/cyTTJfw1E8
As Townhall has pointed out before, it's hard to buy Democrat claims that the report is baseless or without any impact on current investigations given FBI Director Wray's refusal to produce the document — even when under subpoena — and then continue to control access of the document even now under threat of being held in contempt of Congress. If there was no "there," there, why wouldn't it just be released to put conversations about what then-VP Biden was doing to rest?