Iowa Senator Charles Grassley slammed Christopher Wray on Thursday. The refusal of the FBI to hand over an informant file is blatant contempt and obstruction. James Comer has been trying to get his hands on a report detailing how Joe Biden “was involved in a bribery scheme while serving as vice president.” He issued a subpoena which was defiantly ignored. The way the Federal Bureau of Instigation handled the request confirms the outright “weaponization” revealed by John Durham’s investigation report.
Wray produced only excuses
The only thing Christopher Wray has produced, so far, is excuses. Lame ones at that. The House Oversight Committee moved forward by typing up the paperwork. They plan to vote on contempt charges next week. In a statement on June 1, Charles Grassley urged his House colleagues to go ahead and do it.
Senator Grassley also backed up Comer’s “refusal to view the document privately, saying it was ‘not good enough‘ for the file to be seen by only a handful of politicians.” Especially given the allegation facing Joe Biden.
“They’ve got to produce this document. They’re up against what the Durham report has said about the shortcomings and the political bias of the FBI, and this is just one more example of them not being forthcoming to the public.” Christopher Wray and his FBI work for US.
BREAKING: FBI Director Christopher Wray Will Be Held In Contempt Of Congress After Failing To Comply With House Republicanshttps://t.co/LYIlQUyRio
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) May 30, 2023
“The public’s business,” the Iowa senator thundered, “ought to be public, and there’s no reason for a non-classified document to be held in secret.” There are rumors floating around that the entire, unredacted document might be released to the public. The biggest reason James Comer has no need to go traipsing over to the J. Edgar Hoover building to get a look at a redacted copy of the report is because, some suggest, he’s already seen it. He probably has a copy in his filing cabinet and Senator Grassley is likely to have another just like it. As reported by CNN, “the document has origins in a tranche of documents that Rudy Giuliani provided to the Justice Department in 2020, people briefed on the matter said.”
They go on to note that the “allegations of wrongdoing by the then-vice president, many originating from sources in Ukraine, were dubious enough that Attorney General William Barr in early 2020 directed that they be reviewed by a U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh.” Barr explained at the time, “we can’t take anything we received from Ukraine at face value.” CNN confirms that “former Pittsburgh U.S. Attorney Scott Brady oversaw the FBI investigation of the Giuliani claims. The 1023 document being demanded by Comer is among the products of that investigation.”
The biggest thing everyone wanted to know was whether the FBI actually investigated the claim or not. If so, what did they find? If not, why not? This could all be an elaborate ploy to see if Christopher Wray and Merrick Garland start to look nervous and try to hide valid evidence. As they’re accused of doing by Durham. Every day, it looks more like they are.
Bureau Biden bias
Nobody can say that the FBI has been “forthcoming” when that means handing over anything related to Biden family investigations. Christopher Wray has already “confirmed the existence of the FD-1023 informant file,” Comer announced Wednesday.
The form spells out all the details of “a June 2020 allegation that Biden engaged in a $5 million bribery scheme with a foreign national during the Obama administration.” It looks a lot like the one allegedly paid to end the investigation into the Ukrainian company Hunter Biden worked for.
Director Wray had until the close of business Tuesday to comply with his subpoena and refused to hand over the evidence. The next day, he called and offered to show the document under controlled conditions, with redactions, in an attempt to avoid the contempt of Congress charge. It doesn’t look like that ploy worked.
Falling Down Is the Least of Joe Biden’s Problems
“FBI Director Christopher Wray has confirmed the existence of a document alleging that President Joe Biden engaged in a criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national.”https://t.co/HnA0vGD4U1
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) June 1, 2023
Senator Grassley “refused to speak about what exactly the document details, but said it does not endanger any sources, rebutting the FBI’s previous claim about the file.” That highly suggests he’s at least seen it.
Grassley also admits that he’s not real sure “how incriminating the file actually is against Biden, if at all.” He continues to insist that’s not the point.
“The real issue,” he declares, is “the unconstitutional efforts” of Wray to hide the truth. “It’s not enough for the FBI to show the document to only a handful of lawmakers privately.” He wants the entire public to see the whole thing.
“Let’s put it this way. There’s accusations in it, but it’s not for me to make a judgment about whether these accusations are accurate or not. It’s my job to make sure the FBI is doing their job, and that’s what this is all about, as far as I’m concerned. The public’s business ought to be public.”
Wray thinks his offer of a quick peek complies with the subpoena and he’s counting on his boss, Merrick Garland, to decline prosecuting him for contempt if the vote goes that way. That might get dicey for Chris if Garland isn’t the one making the decision by then.
