The FBI on Monday refused to comply with a congressional subpoena requesting a document that allegedly details a pay-to-play scheme involving President Joe Biden when he served as vice president.
During a briefing between the House Oversight Committee and members of FBI staff, it was revealed the agency has once again failed to comply with a congressional subpoena requesting an unclassified record that purportedly discloses a pay-to-play scheme involving the then-vice president in a foreign country, the New York Post reported.
FBI refuses to provide subpoenaed document on alleged Biden ‘criminal scheme’ https://t.co/6sNxEyuNVK
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 23, 2023
Senate Budget Committee ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley and House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer initially sent letters to the FBI on May 3, requesting the agency turn over an FD-1023 form that allegedly details the scheme, which a whistleblower reportedly brought to Grassley’s attention.
The FBI responded to the request with a six-page letter May 10, detailing its objections to the request. Among the objections listed, the FBI argued the information contained in the FD-1023 document was provided by a confidential source and, as such, it was in the agency’s purview to protect their identity. The Bureau further argued the information provided has not been verified. (RELATED: Chuck Grassley Says ‘The FBI Needs To Come Clean’ About Evidence Of Biden’s ‘Possible Criminal Activity’)
“It is critical to the integrity of the entire criminal justice process and to the fulfillment of our law enforcement duties that FBI avoid revealing information — including unverified or incomplete information — that could harm investigations, prejudice prosecutions or judicial proceedings, unfairly violate privacy or reputational interests, or create misimpressions in the public,” the letter reads.
“Often, even confirming the fact of the existence (or nonexistence) of an investigation or a particular piece of investigative information can risk these serious harms.”
Comer acknowledged the FBI’s letter the same day, saying in a press release it was “clear” from the agency’s response that the document in question “exists.”
“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 FBI’s position is ‘trust, but you aren’t allowed to verify.’ That is unacceptable. We plan to follow up with the FBI and expect compliance with the subpoena,” Comer said.
Comer sent another letter to the FBI requesting the FD-1023, and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo he made it “very clear” to FBI Director Christopher Wray in a May 19 phone call that “Congress has a right and … the jurisdiction to oversee the FBI.” McCarthy told Bartiromo he believed Wray would turn over the document following his phone call.
With the Bureau’s second refusal to comply, the Republican-led House of Representatives could possibly hold Wray in contempt or begin impeachment proceedings against him as a means of applying pressure to the situation, the New York Post reported. Congress also has the power to cut funding to federal agencies in an effort to enforce subpoenas, according to the outlet.