by Jack Davis at westernjournal.com
A Washington showdown looms over information the FBI refuses to release and Republicans who say they will begin contempt of Congress proceedings if they do not get it.
Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky and Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa want what’s known as an FD-1023 form that they believe has information pertaining to President Joe Biden and an exchange of money in return for policy decisions.
FBI Director Chris Wray was given until Tuesday to turn over the form, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.
Comer and Grassley have a call scheduled with Wray on Wednesday, but there is no expectation that the call will produce the form, the Mail reported.
In a statement, the FBI said, “The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people. Releasing confidential source information could potentially jeopardize investigations and put lives at risk. The FBI remains committed to cooperating with Congress’s oversight requests on this matter and others as we always have.”
In a release on the website of the House Oversight Committee, Comer called the refusal “obstructionist.”
“Whistleblower disclosures that Joe Biden may have been involved in a criminal bribery scheme as vice president track closely with what we are seeing in our investigation into the Biden family’s influence-peddling schemes. Congress and the American people need to know what, if anything, the FBI did to verify the allegations contained within this record,” he said.
“If Director Wray refuses to hand over this unclassified record, the Oversight Committee will begin contempt of Congress proceedings,” Comer said.
Comer said that after being informed by the FBI that his initial search parameters were too broad, he narrowed them down to “June 30, 2020” and “five million.”
Grassley said the denial is in keeping with what the FBI has become.
“The FBI has continued to tie itself in knots to ignore a legitimate subpoena from Congress, which has a constitutional duty of oversight. The Bureau’s developed a serious reputation problem through its spate of failures and overreach, and leadership is doing it no favors by attempting to stiff-arm Congress,” he said.
“The FBI knows exactly what document Chairman Comer and I are seeking, and if they know us at all, they know we will get it, one way or another. If FBI leadership truly cares about protecting the agency’s reputation, they’d cooperate. These needless delays only harm the Bureau,” he said.
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