Comer says Wray confirmed existence of record reporting alleged Biden bribery scheme, which the White House strongly refutes

Washington — GOP Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, said in a statement Wednesday that FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed "the existence of an unclassified record that contains reporting of an alleged bribery scheme related to then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national."

Comer believes the FBI record contains "a precise description of how the alleged criminal scheme was employed as well as its purpose," he and Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Chuck Grassley said in a letter to Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland in early May. The GOP lawmakers also said at the time, they believed the form "describes an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions."

While Comer and Grassley said in Wednesday's statement that the record includes "very serious and detailed allegations implicating the current President of the United States," they did not provide further evidence to support the claim.

Ian Sams, the White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, said: "This silly charade by Chairman Comer is yet another reminder that his so-called 'investigations' are political stunts not meant to get information but to spread thin innuendo and falsehoods to attack the President. He has already admitted this isn't about uncovering facts but about trying to hurt the President's poll numbers, so the only question left is how long he will waste time, energy, and taxpayer dollars to support a fact-free politically-motivated goose chase simply to get media attention and the Fox News spotlight."

According to Comer, Wray offered in a phone call Wednesday to allow lawmakers to view it at FBI headquarters. Comer issued the subpoena earlier this month after a whistleblower had provided GOP lawmakers with information about an alleged bribery scheme involving Mr. Biden.

Grassley and Comer spoke with Wray by phone Wednesday after the FBI director did not provide the document by the May 30 deadline. The two Republicans are seeking evidence of any FBI probe into the allegation, and whether it was substantiated or deemed not credible.

Comer has said he would hold Wray in contempt of Congress if he did not turn over the document, and he reiterated Wednesday that he remains committed to initiating contempt proceedings.

"Today, FBI Director Wray confirmed the existence of the FD-1023 form alleging then-Vice President Biden engaged in a criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national," Comer said in his statement.

In a statement to CBS News, the FBI described the FD-1023 form as a document "used by FBI agents to record unverified reporting by a confidential human source." The bureau noted that "[d]ocumenting the information does not validate it, establish its credibility, or weigh it against other information verified by the FBI."

Comer said that in their conversation, "Director Wray did not commit to producing the documents subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee."... (Read more)

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