Opinion

FERBRACHE: Did The FBI Corroborate Reliable Source Reporting Of Alleged Biden Corruption?

(Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Mark Ferbrache Contributor
Font Size:

Are the “walls are closing in” on the Biden family’s alleged corruption network? Sound familiar? 

As many as three whistleblowers have disclosed concerns to Republican Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley regarding “irregular handling” of evidence and “standard investigatory procedures … not being followed” in relation to the government’s investigation of Hunter Biden.

Indeed, one whistleblower claim refers to an FBI confidential source reporting on form FD-1023.  Form FD-1023 is an internal bureau document to record positive reporting from registered confidential sources. This report contains information about allegations that President Biden engaged in a pay-for-play scheme when he was vice president that involved a bribe from a foreign entity in exchange for a policy decision. 

Until recently, FBI Director Christopher Wray has dodged the subpoena issued by House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY), asserting that public disclosure of the document would unfairly identify a confidential source and possibly damage the reputations of others. Wray’s stonewalling has irked Comer to the point of holding Director Wray in contempt of Congress.  Just as a casual observer, whatever so-called “oversight” Congress has over the FBI, it apparently has no teeth. 

There are ways for the FBI to comply with Comer’s request without putting the source’s identity or anyone’s reputation at risk. Not long ago, these would have been considered legitimate reasons for the FBI to resist disclosure. However, given the surplus of FBI scandals since the 2016 election, one has reason to doubt Director Wray’s true intentions. Call me cynical, but by all accounts, the FBI’s senior leadership has traded the Bureau’s reputation of constitutional fidelity for a distorted notion of justice and obedient loyalty to an ailing President. 

Other whistleblowers have alleged so far that the FBI mishandled evidence and deviated from standard investigative procedures in its inquiries of Hunter Biden. If the FBI had done its job and followed its own policies and procedures, there might not be any reason now to throw a flag. 

The existence of the bribery allegation in the FD-1023 is just the starting point. The whistleblower came forward, not because he learned of the reported corrupt arrangement, but more importantly because of his knowledge of what the bureau did – or didn’t do – to validate the information. This is at the heart of the current Comer/Grassley probe of questionable FBI actions.

In the subpoena to Wray, both Comer and Senator Charles Grassley indicate the document is dated to June 20, 2020, (likely the day the confidential source was interviewed) and the alleged bribe was $5 million. These specific details, along with Grassley’s confirmation to Wray that he’s “already seen the form”, suggests that the whistleblower had access to the FD-1023, kept a copy and provided it to Grassley. 

With all the talk of holding the FBI Director in contempt of Congress, it looks like Wray has found a way to comply with Comer’s subpoena. In a closed hearing next week, he has agreed to provide the FD-1023 document to Comer’s Committee. Grassley, and likely Comer, already have the document, so during his audience with Comer, Wray should be pinned down on the FBI’s efforts to, a) evaluate the source’s veracity, b) whether the source had reasonable access to be privy to such closely-held information, and the $64,000 question, c) what actions did FBI undertake to corroborate the information?

Recent reporting by Fox News claims the confidential source providing the incriminating information on the president has been “consistently reviewed by the FBI,” “found to be highly credible” and has provided information in the past on multiple FBI investigative matters. If true, this ups the ante for Wray on his answers to item “c.” But (and I’m just spit-balling here), prepare for a response that suggests that the whole thing is some type of “disinformation” campaign. 

Let’s assume for a moment the FBI determined the source lacked credibility and his reporting was dubious. If saddled with information this inflammatory, what actions did the FBI undertake to put the matter to rest? It defies common sense that, after receiving information implicating a sitting president in possible crime, the FBI did nothing and buried the report to protect Biden, even if they were highly skeptical of the source’s allegations.

If FBI and DOJ are effectively the praetorian guards for the Biden administration, then shielding the president from accusations of corruption and deep-sixing them is job one. So, regardless of the source’s credibility or accuracy of the information, the Bureau, at the highest levels, likely directed a deep-dive on the source’s story immediately, if not sooner, to at least to gain control of the information and contain it. This entails controlling the source to prevent further spread of the allegations. But besides the source, who else knows about the information? It’s like trying to put the genie back in the bottle. Thus, the appearance of a whistleblower.

If, after conducting the requisite due diligence to vet the source’s information, the FBI believed the allegations to be credible, then that’s how an FBI corruption investigation begins. 

Mark D. Ferbrache served as an FBI special agent for 27 years specializing in white-collar criminal investigations. He later worked in the bureau’s National Security Division and CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, and held diplomatic assignments in Prague, London and Bucharest, as well as field office assignments in Seattle, New York and the FBI Headquarters in Washington. He is currently employed as a contractor in the U.S. intelligence community.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel