House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced Wednesday night that the FBI has “caved” and will allow each member of the panel the opportunity to review an informant file held by the bureau that accuses President Biden of a $5 million bribery scheme while he was vice president.
As a result of FBI Director Christopher Wray’s change of heart – after weeks of refusing to hand over a physical copy of the FD-1023 form to the committee – he will no longer be subjected to a contempt of Congress hearing that was slated for Thursday.
The FBI is also making two additional documents referenced in the informant file available for Comer (R-Ky.) and House Oversight Committee ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) to review, the panel announced.
“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 on Wednesday.
“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 added.
Comer, who has viewed the document, described the claims in it earlier this week as “consistent with what we found and disclosed to you all in Romania. It suggests a pattern of bribery where payments would be made through shell accounts and multiple banks.”
The Kentucky Republican noted the information in the file came from a “highly credible informant” who has been “part of the bureau for 13 years, dating back to the Obama administration” and has been paid a “substantial amount of money” by the FBI for his work over the years.
The Oversight Committee leader says that FBI officials told him Monday that the allegations are part of an active investigation.
“Let’s be clear: the allegations contained within this record are not closed as the White House and Democrats would have the American people believe. Former Attorney General Barr confirmed this information was sent to the U.S. Attorney in Delaware for further investigation and the FBI has confirmed it is being used in an ongoing investigation,” Comer said Wednesday.
“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.”
