As the investigation launched February into the international business dealings of Hunter Biden and President Joe Biden, proceeds, the FBI appears to be stonewalling in regard to documents requested by the investigating House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena with a deadline of May 10 for the file. According to GOP investigators, whistleblower disclosures suggest the existence of a form completed by the FBI, outlining an alleged influence-peddling scheme involving Biden during his tenure as vice president and a foreign national, Conservative Brief reported.
On the day of the deadline, the FBI responded to the request, with an official declining to acknowledge the existence of the mentioned record. The response further cautioned against the release of “unverified or incomplete” information that could “harm investigations, prejudice prosecutions or judicial proceedings, unfairly violate the privacy or reputational interests, or create misimpressions in the public.”
Comer again requested the document from FBI Director Christopher Wray on Friday, accusing the agency of interfering with his subpoena launched on May 3 with Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley. The bureau has yet to hand over the document, and subsequently, House Republicans are threatening to file contempt charges against Wray after the agency failed during a closed-door meeting to hand over a document lawmakers subpoenaed.
Comer detailed how lawmakers are seeking a document from the FBI that allegedly details a “criminal scheme” involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and an unnamed “foreign national.”
Comer explained his threat of contempt charges:
“They don’t respect anyone in Congress,” Comer said on Fox News. “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. Why would you change your business model when you’re getting everything you want?”
Comer stated to Jesse Watters, “We need to take extreme measures in trying to get this whistleblower to come forward publicly and say what exactly is in this document,” adding that the House Republicans need to determine that GOP senators hold the bureau’s budget “hostage” until the FBI gets new leadership or delivers the requested record.
“The FBI refused to turn over the form 1023. We had another meeting where they were very patronizing. I’ve asked for a phone call with Director Wray. We expect to get this document,” Comer explained.
“Speaker McCarthy had a phone call with Director Wray. He demanded that they turn over this document. This is a very crucial piece of our investigation. And the reason that I think it’s very credible is this claim was made years before anyone knew about these different shell companies. And knew exactly what the Biden family did in countries like Romania and China to get money.”
“What we’re going to have to do in this House is demand that the Senators get our backs, like they are doing as we speak with these debt ceiling negotiations,” Comer warned, going on, “it’s not just this form 1023. We also want to know what classified documents Joe Biden had in his possession because that’s an important part of our investigation.”
“At today’s staff briefing with FBI officials, the FBI again did not produce the unclassified record subpoenaed by Chairman Comer. The Oversight Committee will announce the next steps soon,” said Jessica Collins, a spokeswoman for the committee.
Christopher Dunham, the acting Assistant Director for Congressional Affairs, expressed in his response a commitment to collaborate with lawmakers to address the issue, but Comer remarked on actions rather than promises.
“It’s clear from the FBI’s response that the unclassified record the Oversight Committee subpoenaed exists, but they are refusing to provide it to the Committee,” Comer said at the time. “We’ve asked the FBI to not only provide this record, but to also inform us what it did to investigate these allegations. The FBI has failed to do both.”
The threat seems to we working, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Sunday that he is anticipating that the FBI will now turn over a file that is believed to contain evidence of bribery involving President Joe Biden and his son.
McCarthy spoke on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” and in the interview the California Republican said the potential breakthrough came after he personally spoke with FBI Director Christopher Wray last week, the Daily Wire reports. The conversation highlighted the bureau’s failure to comply with a lawful congressional subpoena for the file.
“I explained to the director that we will do everything in our power, and we have jurisdiction over the FBI, that we have the right to see this document,” McCarthy said during the interview. “I believe after this call, we will get this document.”
Since February, the committee has been addressing not just the Bidens but others allegedly involved int he matter.
Conservative Brief noted:
Comer’s committee sent a letter to Vuk Jeremic requesting a transcribed interview and the production of documents related to a now-defunct Chinese energy firm called CEFC, Hunter Biden, James Biden, and their associates. Jeremic has testified about his business relationships with certain CEFC officials, including Chairman Ye Jianming and Patrick Ho.
Jeremic was the Serbian foreign minister and later, president of the United Nations General Assembly from 2012 to 2013.
In the letter, the committee noted that it “is investigating President Biden’s connections to certain international and domestic business transactions and practices, including his family and associates who peddled influence to generate millions of dollars for the Biden family.
Ignoring the FBI refusal, Democrats say Republicans of simply trying to weaken Biden heading into next year’s presidential election. The White House is busy downplaying the situation.
“House Republicans have shown no evidence of any policy decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. national interests,” tweeted White House spokesperson Ian Sams last week. “That’s because they can’t.”
Perhaps with the requested documents, the committee can show exactly that other influence.
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