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FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a hearing on Capitol Hill on April 27, 2023 in Washington.
CNN
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FBI Director Christopher Wray offered Wednesday to let House Oversight Chairman James Comer see an internal law enforcement document that Republicans believe will shed light on a accusation that then Vice President Joe Biden was involved in a criminal scheme with a foreign national, two sources familiar with the situation told CNN.
Comer had subpoenaed the document and threatened Wray with contempt of congressional proceedings if Wray did not provide it. Comer told Wray during a phone call that the accommodation may not be enough to stop contempt proceedings, the sources said.
Both Comer and the top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin, are expected to have access to the document. Raskin is scheduled to speak with Wray on a separate call on Wednesday.
“Since Chairman Comer refused to allow Ranking Member Raskin to participate in his call with Director Wray this afternoon, the Ranking Member has secured a separate call this afternoon so that Director Wray can brief him on the information that the Comer FBI is providing in response to the Committee’s subpoena. said a House Oversight Democrats spokesperson.
The FBI did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
The document is a form FD-1023, which the FBI uses to record information collected from confidential sources. It usually includes allegations from a source that has not been verified by the FBI. According to Comer, the subject, dated June 30, 2020, says the foreign national allegedly paid $5 million to receive the desired outcome of the policy, based on disclosures from unclassified and legally protected whistleblowers.
In a recent letter to Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, Comer and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley wrote: “The document has been alleged to include an accurate description of how the alleged criminal scheme was employed, as well as its purpose.”
The White House has previously dismissed the unverified claim as another of the “baseless politically motivated attacks” by Republicans.
The FBI, in a letter sent before Comer’s contempt threat, said it will make the information available to the oversight committee “in a format and setting that maintains confidentiality and protects important security interests and the integrity of FBI investigations.” FBI”. The FBI also said there are limitations on its ability to share unsubstantiated raw intelligence outside of the office.
Since taking control of the House earlier this year, Republicans have aggressively pursued Biden and his family, particularly his son Hunter Biden, over allegations that they misused the now-president’s political connections to enrich themselves. Earlier this month, Comer alleged that the Biden family received millions of dollars in payments from foreign entities in China and Romania, even while Biden was vice president. The committee does not suggest any illegality about the payments from foreign sources and White House representatives and Hunter Biden have dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.