The FBI failed during a closed-door meeting on Monday to hand over a document sought by the GOP-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee that allegedly details a “criminal scheme” involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and an unnamed “foreign national.”
The committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), revived his request for the FBI form to Director Christopher Wray on Friday, accusing the agency of interfering with his subpoena launched on May 3 with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Weeks later, the bureau has yet to hand over the document, which Comer and Grassley say was first tipped off to them by a whistleblower.
A LOOK AT WHAT PROGRAMS COULD BE AFFECTED IF THE US DEFAULTS ON ITS LOANS
“At today’s staff briefing with FBI officials, the FBI again did not produce the unclassified record subpoenaed by Chairman Comer,” Jessica Collins, a spokeswoman for the committee, told the Washington Examiner. “The Oversight Committee will announce next steps soon.”
The whistleblower disclosures reviewed by Comer and Grassley purportedly indicate that the Justice Department and FBI possess a FD-1023 form, which is typically an informant report, with information on how Biden and a foreigner allegedly exchanged “money for policy decisions.” Much remains unclear about the investigation and what laws Biden could have violated in connection to the purported financial matter.
Prior to the Monday staff briefing, the FBI had told the Oversight Committee it can figure out “how we can accommodate your request without violating our law enforcement and national security obligations,” according to Comer.
“The FBI’s delay in producing a single FD-1023 form is unacceptable,” Comer wrote in his Friday letter. “The Committee has already offered a reasonable accommodation to address the FBI’s stated confidentiality concerns but the FBI to date has refused to meaningfully engage in discussions about how the Committee can obtain the information that it needs. Instead, it has sought to change the subject by offering to provide the Committee with information it has not requested.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Comer’s subpoena is a window into how House Republicans have accelerated their investigations into the Biden family’s finances since earning a majority in November. Two weeks ago, the congressman released a 36-page memo based on bank records showing that the Biden family, including Hunter Biden, took $10 million from Chinese and Romanian accounts while Joe Biden was vice president.
The FBI declined a request for comment.
