Comer threatens to hold FBI in contempt of Congress if it fails to release key Biden document

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The Biden family will try to fight our subpoenas: James Comer

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer shares the GOP’s next steps in investigating the Biden family’s business dealings on ‘Fox News Tonight.’ 

FIRST ON FOX: House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer is threatening to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against the FBI if the bureau does not comply by next week with a subpoena related to a possible criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden.

Comer, R-Ky., has subpoenaed the FBI for a document that allegedly describes a criminal scheme involving Biden and a foreign national and relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions. The document is an FBI-generated FD-1023 form.

In a letter sent Wednesday to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Comer said the FBI has "failed to produce the FD-1023 form or offer any reasonable accommodation that would allow the Committee to review the document."

Comer's letter gave the FBI until May 30 to comply with the subpoena for the document, and warned that without compliance, the House Oversight Committee will "initiate contempt of Congress proceedings."

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House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The document is being sought after a whistleblower approached Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, alleging that the FBI and the Justice Department were in possession of it, and that it would reveal "a precise description of how the alleged criminal scheme was employed as well as its purpose."

Instead of complying with the subpoena, the FBI instead told Comer on May 10 that it needs to protect the bureau’s confidential human source program. Since then, House Oversight and Accountability Committee counsel has attended two meetings at FBI headquarters with FBI staff this month.

"Similar to the May 15 meeting, FBI staff was not authorized to even acknowledge the existence of the FD-1023 form," Comer wrote, detailing the committee’s second meeting at FBI headquarters on Monday. "There was only one substantive comment regarding the subpoena."

Comer explained that FBI staff indicated that the "search terms were broad" in the committee’s initial subpoena, and told counsel that "there were many responsive documents containing the term ‘Biden’ in its CHS database for that month."

President Biden departs the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 19, 2023. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

"While that new information was alarming, committee counsel offered to limit the subpoena to be even more precise," Comer wrote Wednesday to Wray. He added that FBI staff "responded that such a limitation as unnecessary because they knew which document was responsive to the subpoena, yet simultaneously would not acknowledge that document’s existence."

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"The FBI’s gamesmanship in holding a meeting about general CHS confidentiality issues — instead of addressing the specific FD-1023 form the Committee subpoenaed — is unacceptable," Comer wrote, adding that the bureau’s "refusal" to produce "this single document is obstructionist."

Comer told Wray that to "narrow the breadth of the subpoena" in response to FBI staff criticisms, the committee determined "additional terms based on unclassified legally protected whistleblower disclosures that may be referenced in the FD-1023 form."

The terms included "June 30, 2020" and "five million."

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"These terms relate to the date of the FD-1023 form and its reference to the amount of money the foreign national allegedly paid to receive the desired policy outcome," Comer explained. "Given the large number of FD-1023 forms with the word ‘Biden’ in June 2020, these terms should assist the FBI in identifying the specific FD-1023 form at issue."

Comer again slammed the FBI’s "delay" as "unreasonable," but notified Wray that he would give the bureau "six more days to produce the FD-1023 form."

"To the extent there are numerous documents referencing ‘Biden’ and five million’ dollar payments, please let us know promptly," Comer wrote.

"The FBI has continued to tie itself in knots to ignore a legitimate subpoena from Congress, which has a constitutional duty of oversight," Grassley told Fox News Digital. "The Bureau’s developed a serious reputation problem through its spate of failures and overreach, and leadership is doing it no favors by attempting to stiff-arm Congress."

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FBI Director Christopher Wray listens during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Grassley said the FBI "knows exactly what document Chairman Comer and I are seeking, and if they know us at all, they know we will get it, one way or another."

"If FBI leadership truly cares about protecting the agency’s reputation, they’d cooperate," Grassley said. "These needless delays only harm the Bureau."

The back-and-forth came after Comer and Grassley notified Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland this month about the "legally protected and highly credible unclassified whistleblower disclosures."

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Comer and Grassley said that based on "the alleged specificity within the document, it would appear that the DOJ and the FBI have enough information to determine the truth and accuracy of the information contained within it."

"The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people. Releasing confidential source information could potentially jeopardize investigations and put lives at risk," the FBI said in a statement. "The FBI remains committed to cooperating with Congress’s oversight requests on this matter and others as we always have."

The White House has maintained that the president never spoke to his son about his business dealings and has continued to say that the president was never involved in them. Officials also say the president has never discussed investigations into members of his family with the Justice Department.