House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) formally introduced his resolution to hold Biden's FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress on Wednesday morning, laying out the facts and timeline of how Director Wray obstructed oversight efforts and refused to comply with requests and subpoenas.
"We have been clear that the FBI must produce the unclassified FD-1023 record to the custody of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability," Chairman Comer said in a statement Wednesday. "To date, the FBI has refused to comply with our lawfully issued subpoena and even refused to admit the record’s existence up until a week ago. Once Director Wray confirmed the record’s existence, the FBI started their coverup by leaking a false narrative to the media," Comer noted.
"The case is not closed as the White House, Democrats, and the FBI would have the American people believe," Comer argued. "The FBI created this record based on information from a credible informant who has worked with the FBI for over a decade and paid six figures," he reminded. "The informant had first-hand conversations with the foreign national who claimed to have bribed then-Vice President Biden. And now, Attorney General Barr has confirmed that the record was given to the U.S. Attorney in Delaware for the purpose of that investigation," Comer continued.
Americans have lost trust in the FBI’s ability to enforce the law impartially and demand accountability. @GOPoversight must follow the facts and ensure the government is held accountable.
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) June 7, 2023
I just introduced the Resolution to hold FBI Director Wray in contempt of Congress. pic.twitter.com/cj9qNXc3xi
In a report supporting the contempt proceedings released on Wednesday with the proposed resolution, Comer notes that "Director Wray’s actions impeded and caused meaningful delays to the Committee’s ability to perform its Constitutional oversight duties."
"Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray willfully failed to comply with a subpoena issued by the Committee on Oversight and Accountability relating to the Committee’s investigation of public corruption and influence peddling," Comer reminds in the report. The Oversight subpoena required Wray to produce "[a]ll FD-1023 forms, including within any open, closed, or restricted access case files, created or modified in June 2020, containing the term “Biden,” including all accompanying attachments and documents to those FD-1023 forms."
That subpoena covered one specific FD-1023 form, the one brought to light by a whistleblower regarding the allegations about a pay-for-policy scheme between then-VP Biden and a foreign national.
"Director Wray and his staff have refused to produce any documents responsive to this subpoena to the Committee," the Oversight report continues. "Director Wray’s unwillingness to comply with the subpoena has interfered with the Committee’s investigation," and, "[h]aving exhausted all available options for obtaining compliance, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability recommends that the House of Representatives find Director Wray in contempt for his failure to comply with the subpoena issued to him."
Here's the form of resolution the Oversight Committee recommended to the full House of Representatives for citing Director Wray for contempt of Congress:
Resolved, That Christopher Wray, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall be found in contempt of Congress for failure to comply with a congressional subpoena.
Resolved, That pursuant to 2 U.S.C. §§ 192 and 194, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall certify the report of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, detailing the refusal of Christopher Wray, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, to produce documents to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability as directed by subpoena, to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, to the end that Director Wray be proceeded against in the manner and form provided by law.
Resolved, That the Speaker of the House is authorized to take all appropriate action to enforce the subpoena.
So, while Democrats inevitably go all hair-on-fire in response to the contempt resolution, it's important to remember that history and exists, and the practice of the Oversight Committee pursuing contempt charges against executive branch officials is not new, nor is it unprecedented. Here's a brief list, as Comer notes in his resolution, of some of the officials who've previously faced contempt proceedings:
- Attorney General Janet Reno
- Attorney General Michael Mukasey
- EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson
- Attorney General Eric Holder
- IRS Official Lois Lerner
- Attorney General Bill Barr
- Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross
The full Oversight resolution with the timeline and additional details of Wray's refusal to allow oversight can be viewed below:
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