Tipsheet

Comer Cancels Move to Hold Director Wray in Contempt After FBI Comes to Its Senses

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  June 08, 2023 7:00 AM

It's been quite the week for FBI Director Christopher Wray, as he could have been held in contempt of Congress on Thursday, had his agency not turned over a document alleging then Vice President Joe Biden was involved in a bribery scheme with a foreign national. The warning of contempt came Monday from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), with a resolution released on Wednesday. In a turn of events, though, it was revealed on Wednesday that the FBI had come to its senses. 

The document that the FBI is now willing to turn over to Chairman Comer, Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and all members of the committee, is one that the agency wasn't even willing to admit existed, let alone turn over as a result of a subpoena order. Two additional documents will also be available for Comer and Raskin to review. 

Fox News reported on the development, citing "a source familiar," with Comer also issuing a statement indicating that "the FBI has caved" while also warning about "lost trust" and suggesting more updates will be coming:

“After weeks of refusing to even admit the FD-1023 record exists, the FBI has caved and is now allowing all members of the Oversight and Accountability Committee to review this unclassified record that memorializes a confidential human source’s conversations with a foreign national who claimed to have bribed then-Vice President Joe Biden. Americans have lost trust in the FBI’s ability to enforce the law impartially and demand answers, transparency, and accountability. Allowing all Oversight Committee members to review this record is an important step toward conducting oversight of the FBI and holding it accountable to the American people.

“Let’s be clear: the allegations contained within this record are not closed as the White House and Democrats would have the American people believe. Former Attorney General Barr confirmed this information was sent to the U.S. Attorney in Delaware for further investigation and the FBI has confirmed it is being used in an ongoing investigation. We also know the confidential human source who provided this information is highly credible and trusted, has worked with the FBI for over a decade, and has been paid six figures.

“The allegations contained within this record track closely with the Oversight Committee’s investigation of the Biden family’s influence peddling schemes. The Oversight Committee will continue to follow the facts and ensure accountability for the American people.”

As Comer made reference to in his statement, the week had been full of conflicting reports between Comer and Raskin about ongoing investigations and the source involved, with Raskin even claiming it somehow had to do with former President Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani, though as former Attorney General William Barr told The Federalist, Raskin had his narrative all wrong. The bribery investigation into Biden was not closed, but rather sent to attorneys in Delaware for further review. 

Raskin released his own statement, which still went with his own narrative as he hurled all sorts of allegations at his Republican colleagues, including that they were the ones with "false narratives." As his statement began:

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“In the spirit of good faith, the FBI has offered Chairman Comer yet further accommodations in response to his subpoena, including to allow all Oversight Committee Members to review in camera the second-hand allegations by Ukrainian individuals reported in the tip sheet.  Chairman Comer’s acceptance of these further accommodations comes after he has spent weeks attacking the FBI despite its extraordinary efforts to provide Committee Republicans the information they claim to seek.  

“As part of the FBI’s ongoing efforts to accommodate the Committee, it confirmed several key facts that Committee Republicans are attempting to distort.  Namely, that the assessment conducted by a team of prosecutors and FBI agents from the Trump Department of Justice—under the supervision of then-U.S. Attorney Scott Brady—was opened in January 2020 to evaluate claims made by Rudy Giuliani that information he collected in Ukraine showed President Biden and his son were involved in a corruption scheme.  In August 2020, the FBI, Mr. Brady, and other high-level Justice Department officials signed off on shutting down the assessment.  This decision was made after considering information collected and reviewed by Mr. Brady’s team, including suspicious activity reports and second-hand allegations described by a confidential human source and memorialized in the Form FD-1023.  These are the facts.

“These facts lead us to an obvious conclusion:  that after months of investigating Mr. Giuliani’s allegations, the Trump Justice Department concluded that the evidence failed to justify further inquiry.  Despite repeated confirmation by the FBI, Committee Republicans prefer to ignore the facts that undermine their false narratives.

When writing for our sister site at RedState on Wednesday night, Nick Arama put it perfectly about Raskin's false narrative when he said "all they ever do is still try to blame Trump for everything to deflect from Joe Biden." For Raskin's statement concluded with doing just that, taking the political spin even further as it applies to the presidential election for 2024, with Trump currently being the frontrunner for the Republican nomination:

“Holding someone in contempt of Congress is among the most serious actions our Committee can take and it should not be weaponized to undermine the FBI.  As Republicans’ investigation into President Biden has uncovered no evidence of wrongdoing, they continue to attempt to discredit and dismantle the FBI to help prop up Donald Trump’s poll numbers.”

The House Oversight Committee's account also sent out a tweet reassuring the American people that more is coming, as Republicans will continue with their mission to get to the bottom of the Biden family scandal.