Republicans are moving forward with contempt charges against FBI Director Chris Wray after he failed to hand over an internal document that they claim shows President Joe Biden was involved in a $5 million ‘criminal’ scheme with a foreign national.
Tuesday marked the deadline for the agency to turn over an internal unclassified FD-1023 form that apparently details an ‘arrangement’ for an exchange of money for policy decisions. The Republicans issued a subpoena for the document last month.
‘Today, the FBI informed the Committee that it will not provide the unclassified documents subpoenaed by the Committee,’ House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Tuesday.
‘The FBI’s decision to stiff-arm Congress and hide this information from the American people is obstructionist and unacceptable.’
Comer confirmed that he will still be holding a call Wednesday with Wray and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and they plan to discuss the FBI’s response further.
‘While I have a call scheduled with FBI Director Wray tomorrow to discuss his response further, the Committee has been clear in its intent to protect Congressional oversight authorities and will now be taking steps to hold the FBI Director in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a lawful subpoena.’
‘Americans deserve the truth, and the Oversight Committee will continue to demand transparency from this nation’s chief law enforcement agency.’
Tuesday marks the deadline for the FBI to turn over an internal document that Republicans claim shows President Joe Biden was involved in a $5 million ‘criminal’ scheme with a foreign national
I have a message for FBI Director Christopher Wray: If he misses today’s deadline to turn over subpoenaed documents to Congress, I am prepared to move contempt charges against him. pic.twitter.com/D3hyW3VIpX
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 30, 2023
‘If he misses the deadline today, I am prepared to move contempt charges in Congress against him,’ McCarthy declared on Fox & Friends.
‘We have jurisdiction over the FBI, which they seem to act like we do not. I personally called Director Wray and told him he needs to send that document. Today is the deadline,’ he added.
‘We have the right to look at it – Republicans and Democrats alike on the [House Oversight] Committee – and if he does not follow through with the law, we will begin contempt charges against Christopher Wray and the FBI. They are not above the law,’ McCarthy added.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, are also set to have a phone call with Wray on Wednesday, a spokesperson confirmed to DailyMail.com, but the lawmakers have indicated that it is unlikely the bureau’s top brass will hand over the document.
Last week, Comer informed Wray that he was also narrowing the breadth of the subpoena for the document by providing two additional terms that may be referenced in the record: ‘June 30, 2020’ and ‘five million.’
Staff for Comer, who is leading the investigation into ‘influence-peddling’ by the first family, met with bureau officials one week ago who refused to hand over the file.
The meeting came a day after McCarthy said he spoke with with Wray on the phone and believed that after their conversation, Republicans would ‘get this document.’
‘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 told DailyMail.com last week in a statement regarding whether it will turn over the FD-1023 form.
‘The FBI remains committed to cooperating with Congress’s oversight requests on this matter and others as we always have.’
A spokesperson for committee Democrats told DailyMail.com last week that Comer is basing claims off an ‘unsubstantiated tip’ and accused the chairman of using ‘political theater’ to prop up former President Donald Trump’s primary poll numbers.
The White House has also pushed back, calling the Republican-led investigation ‘unfounded’ and ‘politically motivated.’
The FBI’s latest stonewalling also comes after a second IRS whistleblower came forward, claiming he was sidelined from the Hunter Biden probe when he spoke up about the president’s son getting preferential treatment.
The case agent, who has not been identified, says he was fired recently without any explanation after working on the Hunter Biden investigation since 2018, according to documents sent to congressional leaders obtained by DailyMail.com.
FBI Director Chris Wray has until May 30 to hand over the document to congressional Republicans
‘The information provided by a whistleblower raises concerns that then-Vice President Biden allegedly engaged in a bribery scheme with a foreign national,’ Comer said
This is the second whistleblower to come forward in recent days on the matter.
According to documents, he informed Congress last week about backlash he suffered for acting as a whistleblower and alleged unfair retaliatory treatment.
He sent an email last Thursday to senior IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel and several other officials alleging that he was ousted for raising concerns that the Department of Justice was ‘acting inappropriately’ in its handling of the investigation into the president’s son.
His complaint comes days after the Department of Justice removed the entire team probing Hunter Biden’s tax returns, according to attorneys representing an initial supervisory whistleblower – Gary Shapley.
Shapley testified before the GOP-led Ways and Means Committee for six hours on Friday and answered all questions from both Republicans and Democrats, DailyMail.com learned.
