Testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday afternoon, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate admitted agents at the federal law enforcement agency blacked out information in a FD-1023 report -- eventually given to the House Oversight Committee -- showing President Joe Biden engaged in two phone calls with a former Burisma executive while he was vice president. That executive allegedly offered Biden and his son Hunter, who served on the Burisma board while his father was in charge of the Ukraine portfolio under President Obama, $5 million each for changes in U.S. policy towards the notoriously corrupt foreign gas company. The bribery allegations are allegedly detailed in the FD-1023 report, which FBI Director Christopher Wray has been fighting to keep secret and away from lawmakers.
"We often redact documents to protect sources and methods," Abbate said under questioning from Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn about the contents of the FD-1023 report.
"So you chose to redact the fact that there are 17 voice recordings, two of them with the now president, you chose to redact that and not to give that to House Oversight," Blackburn followed up.
"The document was redacted to protect the source," Abbate followed up.On the Senate floor late Monday afternoon, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley revealed the existence of the recordings and the FBI's efforts to hide them.
GRASSLEY: "The foreign national who allegedly bribed Joe and Hunter Biden allegedly has audio recording of his conversation with them. 17 such recordings...15 audio recordings of phone calls between him and Hunter Biden...two audio recordings of phone calls between him and… pic.twitter.com/0QdUMEKhOR
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 12, 2023