House Republicans threatened to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress if he does not produce documents related to an alleged bribery scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden.
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability said on May 25 that it would initiate contempt of Congress proceedings if the FBI didn’t produce FD-1023 records by May 31, when Wray is set to testify before the committee.
During a recent interview, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said, “Not only do I expect the document … I expect to know exactly what the FBI did to investigate the validity of the claim.”
The committee chairman also said that the events allegedly took place over the course of 2015 and 2016 “during the end of the Obama administration, when Joe Biden was vice president, and he took it upon himself to travel all over the world, to some of our adversaries around the world and talk about foreign policy and foreign aid.”
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena to the FBI on May 3 for a file containing allegations that a whistleblower linked Biden to a “criminal scheme” involving money for policy decisions while he was vice president.
“We have received legally protected and highly credible unclassified whistleblower disclosures,” Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, said in a letter (pdf) to Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland on May 3.
“Based on those disclosures, it has come to our attention that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) possess an unclassified FD-1023 form that describes an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions,” the letter reads.
Since then, Republicans have continued to receive resistance from the agency in their efforts to obtain the document that alleges Biden took a bribe from a foreign national while serving as vice president.
“They don’t respect anyone in Congress,” Comer said during a recent Fox News appearance. “They’ve been able to get away with this for a long time. The media continues to turn a blind eye. The Senate Republicans continue to fund the FBI. So why would you change your business model when you’re getting everything you want?”
An FBI spokesperson responded to The Epoch Times’ inquiry, saying, “The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people. Releasing confidential source information could potentially jeopardize investigations and put lives at risk.”
The law enforcement agency went on to say, “The FBI remains committed to cooperating with Congress’ oversight requests on this matter and others, as we always have.”
Joseph Lord contributed to this report.
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