Under threat of being held in contempt of Congress for refusing to respond to a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee, FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed the existence of a document — brought to light by a whistleblower — that contains information about an alleged criminal bribery scheme between then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national. Still, Wray won't turn the document over to lawmakers and is instead only allowing the document — which is unclassified — to be viewed at the FBI's headquarters.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) May 31, 2023
FBI Director Wray has confirmed the existence of the FD-1023 form alleging then-Vice President Biden engaged in a criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national.
He’s allowing this unclassified record to be reviewed at the FBI but hasn’t produced it to…
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) explained in a statement on Wednesday that "FBI Director Wray confirmed the existence of the FD-1023 form alleging then-Vice President Biden engaged in a criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national," but "did not commit to producing the documents subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee."
"While Director Wray – after a month of refusing to even acknowledge that the form existed – has offered to allow us to see the documents in person at FBI headquarters, we have been clear that anything short of producing these documents to the House Oversight Committee is not in compliance with the subpoena," Comer continued, noting that the FBI's narrative about the subpoenaed document had shifted.
"If the FBI fails to hand over the FD-1023 form as required by the subpoena, the House Oversight Committee will begin contempt of Congress proceedings," Comer said, reinforcing his threat earlier this week to hold Comer in contempt for refusing to turn over the subpoenaed materials.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), another lawmaker working to run down leads from whistleblowers who've come forward with information about the Biden administration's politicization of federal law enforcement and the Biden families eyebrow-raising finances, also called out Wray and the FBI's handling of the situation.
"While the FBI has apparently leaked classified information to the news media in recent weeks, jeopardizing its own human sources, it continues to treat Congress like second class citizens by refusing to provide a specific unclassified record," Grassley said in a statement.
"Director Wray confirmed what my whistleblowers have told me pursuant to legally protected disclosures: the FBI-generated document is real, but the bureau has yet to provide it to Congress in defiance of a legitimate congressional subpoena," the Iowa Republican underscored. "This failure comes with consequences," Grassley concluded.
The FBI and its director's response to the congressional investigation into the whistleblower's claims has seemingly made the situation appear even worse than necessary.
By first refusing to acknowledge the document's existence, then turning around and confirming the form exists, the FBI gave the appearance it has something to hide.
Being that the document is alleged to pertain to the current president of the United States and not the FBI, it also immediately takes on the appearance of being brazenly political.
Then, by defying congressional subpoenas, it makes the whole thing look like an attempt to cover up what is supposedly evidence of a bribery scheme between a sitting vice president and a foreign national.
Even now, with the FBI saying lawmakers can view the document but only at the FBI headquarters, it seems like there's even more to the document and what it contains, such that the FBI would not want to lose control over the document lest it be leaked (as the FBI ironically loves to do with friendly media) or become public.
As of now, for all Americans or lawmakers know, the document could be a total nothing-burger: just a tip that came in about then-VP Biden taking money to do something for a foreign national but which was quickly and easily found to be completely false.
If that's the case, why wouldn't the FBI just tweet out the document or, at the very least, give it to lawmakers when subpoenaed? Instead Wray has made the FBI look like a partisan agency engaged in a cover-up to protect the Democrat president from what seems to be damning information about illicit activities while he was vice president.
It all comes down to what seems to be a simple question: if the FBI has nothing to hide with this document, why are they hiding it?
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