(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has promised to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress following the bureau’s inexplicable refusal to turn over an informant file that could potentially expose an alleged bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden when he served Vice President under the Obama administration in 2015.
In a bombshell statement released by the Oversight Committee on Monday, Comer slammed the FBI’s decision to withhold the unclassified document, calling the bureau’s tactics “obstructionist and unacceptable,” highlighting the importance of congressional oversight.
“Today, the FBI informed the Committee that it will not provide the unclassified documents subpoenaed by the Committee. The FBI’s decision to stiff-arm Congress and hide this information from the American people is obstructionist and unacceptable,” Comer said.
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Today, the FBI informed @GOPoversight that it will not provide the unclassified documents subpoenaed by the Committee.
The Committee will now be taking steps to hold FBI Director Wray in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a lawful subpoena.
Statement.👇 pic.twitter.com/VY3WudlFkG
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) May 30, 2023
Comer warned that while he had a scheduled call with Wray on Tuesday, the Oversight Committee is moving forward with appropriate action to protect congressional oversight authorities, including “taking steps to hold the FBI Director in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a lawful subpoena.”
The Oversight Committee chairman also emphasized that the American people deserved the truth and that House Republicans would persist in demanding transparency from the FBI, particularly amid growing conservative concern that the bureau is rallying against the Republican Party and its voters.
The FBI, under Wray’s leadership, has defied GOP demands, including calls from Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for an FD-1023 informant report that was reportedly created in June 2020 that details a complaint of a “bribery scheme with a foreign national” involving then-Vice President Joe Biden in 2015. A whistleblower revealed the details of the potentially damning document to Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
Comer and Grassley first issued a subpoena on May 3, saying, “We believe the FBI possesses an unclassified internal document that includes very serious and detailed allegations implicating the current President of the United States.”
The Republican leaders called out the FBI for allegedly taking no action to verify the allegations further, citing the “FBI’s recent history of botching politically charged investigations” as sufficient reason to justify congressional oversight.
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@RepJamesComer demands the FBI produce the unclassified record alleging a criminal bribery scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national.
The FBI must provide this record without further delay.Americans demand the truth and accountability. pic.twitter.com/RJ2ajWyugL
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) May 19, 2023
