Rep. James Comer slams FBI for role in Biden document dispute: 'I have no confidence in them'
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., discusses House Republicans' plans to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress.
The FBI is willing to allow all members of the House Oversight Committee to view the subpoenaed document that alleges President Biden was involved in a criminal bribery scheme, a source familiar told Fox News Digital.
The source familiar said all members of the panel would be able to view the document in question — an FBI-generated 1023 form — in a secure location. It is unclear whether the secure location would be in a SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility) on Capitol Hill or at the FBI's headquarters.
Fox News confirmed that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., accepted the FBI's offer late Wednesday and canceled the committee's planned Thursday vote to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt. He will now allow all members of the committee to review the record and receive a briefing. Additionally, the FBI is making two additional documents referenced in the FD-1023 available for Comer and ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., to review.
"After weeks of refusing to even admit the FD-1023 record exists, the FBI has caved and is now allowing all members of the Oversight and Accountability Committee to review this unclassified record that memorializes a confidential human source’s conversations with a foreign national who claimed to have bribed then-Vice President Joe Biden," Comer said in a statement following the decision.
FBI Director Christopher Wray during a news conference in Omaha, Nebraska, on Aug. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
"Americans have lost trust in the FBI’s ability to enforce the law impartially and demand answers, transparency, and accountability. Allowing all Oversight Committee members to review this record is an important step toward conducting oversight of the FBI and holding it accountable to the American people," he said.
Comer added that the allegations in the record are not "closed," and reiterated that the committee's confidential human source was "highly credible and trusted."
"The allegations contained within this record track closely with the Oversight Committee’s investigation of the Biden family’s influence peddling schemes. The Oversight Committee will continue to follow the facts and ensure accountability for the American people," he said.
The document allegedly describes a $5 million criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.
Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 8, 2023. (Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The FBI brought the FD-1023 form to Capitol Hill on Monday for Comer and Raskin to review in a secure SCIF, resulting from a back-and-forth between committee Republicans and the bureau over whether it was in compliance with his subpoena.
The FBI initially offered to allow Comer to review the document at FBI headquarters, but amid Comer's threats to hold Wray in contempt of Congress, the bureau offered additional accommodations to bring the physical document to Capitol Hill.
Despite the accomodation, Comer said Monday that the FBI was still not in compliance with the subpoena to turn over the physical document to the committee.
"At the briefing, the FBI again refused to hand over the unclassified record to the custody of the House Oversight Committee," Comer said later that day. "And we will now initiate contempt of Congress hearings this Thursday."
"Given the severity and complexity of the allegations contained within this record, Congress must investigate further," Comer wrote. "The investigation is not dead. This is only the beginning."
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, June 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The FBI, on Monday, said the move to hold the director in contempt was unwarranted, as the bureau has "continually demonstrated its commitment to accommodate the committee's request, including by producing the document in a reading room at the U.S. Capitol."
"This commonsense safeguard is often employed in response to congressional requests and in court proceedings to protect important concerns, such as the physical safety of sources and the integrity of investigations," the FBI said in a statement. "The escalation to a contempt vote under these circumstances is unwarranted."
Meanwhile, Comer said FBI officials confirmed Monday that the unclassified FBI-generated record "has not been disproven and is currently being used in an ongoing investigation by a confidential human source who provided information about the vice president by being involved in a criminal bribery scheme is a trusted, highly credible informant who has been used by the FBI for over ten years and has been paid over 6 figures."
Comer added, "These are facts and no amount of spin and frankly, lies from the White House or congressional Democrats can change this information."
Fox News Digital first reported Friday that the confidential human source who provided the Biden information to the FBI was a "pre-existing" FBI source who has been used in multiple investigative matters separate from the Biden information.
President Biden speaks at a White House event, March 22, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The source told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source was used by the FBI for "at least several years" before the generation of the June 2020 FD-1023 form that detailed the Biden allegations.
The source also told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source has been "consistently reviewed by the FBI" and has been "found to be highly credible."
The source said the individual participated in investigative matters during the Obama administration.
The revelations of the document come after Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, were approached by a whistleblower who said the FBI was in possession of a document — an FD-1023 form dated June 30, 2020 — that explicitly detailed information provided by a confidential human source who alleged that Biden, while serving as vice president, was involved in a $5 million criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national in exchange for influence over policy decisions.
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The information in the FD-1023 form, according to the whistleblower, reveals "a precise description of how the alleged criminal scheme was employed as well as its purpose" and details an arrangement involving an exchange of money for policy decisions.
An FD-1023 form is used by FBI agents to record unverified reporting from confidential human sources. The form is used to document information as told to an FBI agent, but recording that information does not validate or weigh it against other information known by the FBI.
Fox News' Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.
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