FBI Refuses to Hand Over Subpoenaed File on Alleged Biden Bribery Scheme

Republican lawmakers announced on Wednesday that the FBI failed to produce a subpoenaed file to Congress containing allegations of a criminal bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden and a foreign national dating back to his time as vice president.

The lawmakers plan to "follow up" with the bureau and expect compliance with the subpoena seeking a specific FD-1023 form generated by the FBI.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer expressed disappointment with the FBI's response and said the bureau refused to provide the record or inform the committee what it did to investigate these allegations.

The FBI response, according to Acting Assistant Director for Congressional Affairs Christopher Dunham, emphasized the importance of confidentiality interests while expressing a commitment to work with lawmakers to resolve the matter.

The FBI spokesperson added that an FD-1023 form is used by FBI agents to record unverified reporting by a confidential human source. Documenting the information does not validate it, establish its credibility, or weigh it against other information verified by the FBI.

Comer and Senator Chuck Grassley said whistleblower disclosures indicate the file describes an alleged Biden scheme involving the exchange of money for policy decisions. Grassley questioned what the FBI did to investigate very serious allegations from an apparent trusted FBI source implicating then-Vice President Biden.

The standoff comes on the heels of Just the News reporting on emails this week that show Bud Cummins, a U.S. attorney-turned-lobbyist, wrote to the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan in 2018, sharing that Ukraine's then-Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko was willing to share alleged evidence of a possible corruption scheme involving Biden, his son Hunter Biden, and Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.

Comer and other Republican lawmakers shared evidence on Wednesday morning showing that at least nine members of Biden's family took in as much as $10 million from operatives in China and Romania while Biden served as President Barack Obama's vice president. Over the weekend, Comer urged the Justice Department not to indict Hunter Biden until his press conference on Wednesday because he might divulge information federal prosecutors do not yet possess.

Hunter Biden, who announced he was facing a criminal investigation into his tax affairs soon after the 2020 election, has said he expects to be cleared of wrongdoing. President Biden has distanced himself from Hunter's business dealings and told MSNBC last week that his son has "done nothing wrong."

Democrats have accused their GOP counterparts of ignoring alleged misconduct by former President Donald Trump while trying to dig up "dirt" on the Biden family. The White House has also shot back at Republicans in Congress. White House spokesperson Ian Sams tweeted on Wednesday that "House Republicans have shown no evidence of any policy decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. national interests."