A committee spokesperson confirmed Friday that the FBI will allow the House Oversight Committee’s chair and ranking member to review an internal law-enforcement document next week as part of its investigation into the Biden family business dealings. The panel is led by the GOP.
Last month, Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) requested the FBI for the FD-1023 document. He and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) claimed the form describes an alleged criminal conspiracy involving Joe Biden, when he served as vice president, and a foreigner “relating to the exchange money for policy decisions.”
The committee spokesperson confirmed that the agency would bring the document up to Capitol Hill Monday to give a briefing both to Comer, and to the ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
Christopher Durham, the acting assistant director of FBI, wrote to Comer in a recent letter that FD-1023 records information given to the FBI. However, recording this information does not “validate the information, establish it’s credibility, or weight it against other FBI information.”
Dunham wrote: “Investigative report, such as a FD-1023 include leads and suspicions but not conclusions based on broader contexts, including information which may not be accessible to confidential sources.”
Fox News was the first to report the news of the briefing on Monday.
After Comer issued a subpoena for the document to FBI Director Christopher Wray last month, the FBI refused to provide it.Saying it had to comply with Justice Department policies, which limit how confidential human sources information can be shared outside the FBI.
Comer said that the committee would hold Wray in Contempt of Congress until he handed over the document. The FBI reported that after a Wednesday phone call between Comer, Grassley, and Wray, Wray offered to let the leaders of committee review the document in a “secure manner.”
A spokesperson for the FBI said, “The FBI committed itself to providing access information responsive to Committee’s Subpoenas in a format that protects confidentiality as well as important security interests. It also ensures the integrity of FBI investigation.”
A spokesperson for Raskin confirmed that he had accepted the FBI’s invitation to examine the document subpoenaed.
The Raskin spokesperson said, “The Ranking member appreciates the agency’s efforts to accommodate Committee members and the opportunity of reviewing and being briefed about the Trump Justice Department’s follow-up on the unsubstantiated tips sheet after weeks Chairman Comer’s partisan spin.”
A spokesperson from the Oversight Committee stated that Comer will not be deterred by the upcoming briefing or review of the document to proceed with contempt proceedings.
The spokesperson stated that “Chairman Comer was clear in his request for the FD-1023 to be submitted to the House Oversight Committee,” and anything less would not comply with the subpoena.
Since taking over the House earlier this year, the House Republicans who lead key committees conducted a series investigations into the Bidens’ business dealings.
The White House has criticised the investigation, claiming that the probes were politically motivated and intended to harm Biden’s chances of reelection.
