According to lawmakers, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Chief Christopher Wray failed to fully comply with a subpoena related to the production of a document containing uncorroborated allegations by a confidential whistleblower about President Joe Biden and his family.
FBI officials gave Comer and Rep. Jamie B. Raskin, the top Democrat on the committee, a briefing last Monday and an opportunity to see the text in question, but the former congressman felt that was not enough.
“To date, the FBI has refused to comply with our lawfully issued subpoena and even refused to acknowledge the existence of the file until a week ago,” Comer said in a statement.
In his statement, the Republican cited the agency’s refusal to turn over “the unclassified records” to the oversight board when the oversight board announced it intended to institute a contempt of congress procedure against Wray.
Referring to the document, Comer said a whistleblower had first-hand conversations with a foreigner who claimed to have bribed Biden when he was vice president of the Barack Obama administration (2009-2017).
The Washington Post reported this week that the FBI and Justice Department, led by then-Attorney General William P. Barr, reviewed the allegations made in 2020 and determined there was no reason to proceed with the investigative steps.
Earlier this week, the federal agency claimed in a statement that a potential contempt vote was “unjustified” because the agency had “continuously demonstrated its commitment to honoring the committee’s request.”
On Monday, the White House called Comer’s expected decision to hold a contempt vote “another factless ploy” and accused Comer of “spreading weak innuendos to try to politically harm the president and draw media attention.” “.
If the panel votes to continue the process, the measure would go through the entire House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a four-seat majority.
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