A Republican congressman has questioned the timing of indictments against Donald Trump, noting that the indictments came on the same day a controversial Joe Biden “bribery document” was presented to members of the House of Representatives.
Jack Smith, the special counsel investigating Trump’s handling of classified documents, has told Trump’s attorneys that charges will be brought against the former president, Trump announced on Thursday.
Smith himself has not confirmed the charges.
Trump is reportedly facing seven federal charges for taking classified White House materials with him when he left.
The decision to brief Trump on the allegations came on the same day that members of the House Oversight Committee were granted access to an FBI report on a bribery allegation while Biden was vice president.
Byron Donalds, a Florida congressman, said the timing was remarkable.
Jack Smith was appointed special counsel in November to investigate Trump’s handling of classified information
Donalds, 44, sits on the House Oversight Committee and was shown Thursday the “bribery documents” held by the FBI.
He tweeted: “The day members of Congress learned of an FBI document linking then-Vice President Joe Biden to receiving $5 MILLION from Burisma in a pay-for-play program , Biden’s Justice Department announces another false indictment against the GOP’s frontrunner for president. , Biden’s likely opponent, and the former POTUS.
“This mob-like judicial system is an upside down of the judiciary and is the greatest threat to our democracy.”
“Stand with President Trump.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congresswoman for Georgia who also sits on the House Oversight Committee, echoed Donald’s anger.
“Just today I read the FD-1023 form from the FBI’s most trusted and credible whistleblower,” she tweeted.
“A detailed description of how then-Vice President Joe Biden received $5 million to secure the firing of Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin over investigations into Burisma.” Hunter was also paid.
“Joe Biden has classified documents everywhere. Literally on the garage floor next to the garage door that opens and closes, but the corrupt and complicit FBI and DOJ do nothing.
“It’s shameful.” Really pathetic. Ultimately the greatest hypocrisy in modern history.
“A complete failure for the American people.” “It is a blemish on our nation that the FBI and the Justice Department are so corrupt and don’t even hide it anymore.”
On Wednesday, the FBI gave in to demands from the House Oversight Committee that it release documents alleging Biden was involved in a bribery scheme while he was vice president.
The agreement ended a standoff that began May 3 when FBI Director Christopher Wray received a subpoena to turn over the document.
On Thursday, committee members were allowed to begin examining the document under lock and key in a SCIF (Sensible Compartmented Information Facility).
Wray initially declined to share the uncorroborated document with anyone but committee chairman James Comer and senior Democrat Jamie Raskin.
Comer came out after reviewing the document and said it was worrying; Raskin said it was nothing.
Comer wanted all members of the committee to see the document undarkened: Wray declined.
On Monday, Comer threatened to despise him.
But on Wednesday, Comer canceled the contempt vote after Wray agreed to give the entire committee access to a redacted file.
FBI Director Christopher Wray had until May 30 to turn the document over to Republicans in Congress: he refused, and James Comer threatened to arrest him for contempt of Congress. On Wednesday, Wray agreed to provide access to the document
A spokesman for the Oversight Committee told members they could start examining the document under lock and key at a SCIF (Sensible Compartment Information Facility) from Thursday.
Comer praised the agreement and hailed that Wray had “give in” to demands to allow inspection of the FD-1023 record.
The Biden document at the center of the new dispute was authored by a longtime FBI source that both Republicans and Democrats have called credible.
In it, the source describes an unconfirmed tip from 2020 about Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s business ties in Ukraine.
Hunter Biden worked on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company.
“After weeks of refusing to even admit the existence of the FD-1023 record, the FBI has relented and is now allowing all members of the Oversight and Accountability Committee to view this unclassified record, which suggests a confidential human source’s conversations with a Foreigner who said so.” bribed then-Vice President Joe Biden.
“Americans have lost confidence in the FBI’s ability to impartially enforce the law and demand answers, transparency and accountability.”
“Giving all members of the Oversight Committee the opportunity to view these records is an important step in exercising oversight of the FBI and holding it accountable to the American people,” he added.
All committee members can now see an edited version of a confidential document.
A $5 million bribery scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreigner is alleged.
Joe Biden dismissed the allegations as “malarkey” on Thursday.
‘Where is the money? I’m just kidding. “This is a bunch of bullshit,” he said in response to a shouted question at the end of a White House press conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The White House on Wednesday said Comer lacked credibility and had a “repeated tactic of washing thin innuendos.”
Last week, the White House said Comer was involved in a stunt to appear on Fox News.
Timeline of Secret Documents
May 2021: The National Archives find some records of Trump’s presidency missing
December 2021: The archives request the documents of the former President
January 2022: The Archives have received 15 crates of material that had been stored at Mar-a-Lago, some of which turned out to contain classified material
February 2022: The matter is escalated to the Department of Justice. Trump’s team is conducting a “dress rehearsal” to prepare for the possibility of a search of the documents
May 2022: After several back-and-forths with Trump’s legal team, the Justice Department issued a subpoena for more documents they believe are at the former president’s Florida home
Investigators believe storage boxes, including some containing classified material, were removed from a storage area in Mar-a-Lago after the subpoena arrived, prompting Trump to personally examine some of them
June 2, 2022: Walt Nauta and two employees retrieve documents from a storage room. Hours later, Trump’s attorneys contact the Justice Department and say they are welcome to visit and pick up the documents
June 3, 2022: Three FBI agents and a Justice Department attorney travel to Mar-a-Lago to pick up the additional footage. According to later court records, they received a single Redweld envelope, double-taped, containing the documents. This envelope contained 38 documents with non-disclosure notices, including five marked as confidential, 16 as secret and 17 as top secret
August 2022: The Justice Department requests a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago, citing a “probable reason” that additional presidential records and records containing classified information remained at Trump’s Florida home. Court filings show that the original search warrant application indicated that officers believed “evidence of disability would be found on the premises.”
August 8, 2022: FBI agents search Mar-a-Lago, seizing 18 top secret documents, 54 classified documents, 31 documents marked confidential, and 11,179 government documents or photos that were not classified as classified
November 18, 2022: Attorney General Merrick Garland announces he has hired a special counsel to investigate the handling of the classified documents – Jack Smith
June 8, 2023: Donald Trump says he has been indicted on federal charges over the classified information