Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy declared the FBI is poised to hand over a possibly damning document involving President Joe Biden. The announcement follows a phone call with the director of the bureau.
While appearing in a Sunday televised interview, the speaker offered insight into what transpired between him and FBI director Christopher Wray during a Friday call. The call came a day following the feds’ rebuff of a subpoena that requested the yet-unseen report.
James Comer, House Oversight Committee Chair, sent the official request related to a prospective financial form that several Republican lawmakers claim laid out an “alleged criminal scheme” involving an unnamed foreign national and Biden.
Immediately following the request, the bureau’s acting assistant director of congressional affairs wrote a letter informing Comer that the agency would not provide the form immediately.
Speaker McCarthy quickly issued a statement condemning the response, criticizing the official reply from Assistant Director Christopher Dunham as “unacceptable.”
McCarthy confirmed that the call had taken place but said he was hopeful the document would soon be in House hands.
“I wanted to be clear with the FBI director,” began McCarthy, speaking about the call between Director Wray and the speaker. “Congress has a right, and we have the jurisdiction, to oversee the FBI.”
He continued, “This is one piece of paper that a chairman of committee has requested to see,” added McCarthy.
“[Dunham] hasn’t even acknowledged if he has this document — he hasn’t even provided it,” said McCarthy of the subpoenaed document.
Citing Congress as the body that oversees the FBI along with other federal agencies, the speaker recalled how he confronted the agency boss Friday with the fact that Dunham’s refusal constituted both a breach of ethics and the law.
“I explained to the director that we will do everything in our power, and [that] we have jurisdiction over the FBI — that we have the right to see this document,” said McCarthy.
“I believe, after this call, we will get this document,” maintained the speaker.
Dunham, not swayed by official demand, immediately responded
The official demand did not sway Dunham, and he immediately sent Comer a letter explaining why the agency would not immediately provide the document.
“An FD-1023 form documents information as told to a line FBI agent. Recording the information does not validate the information, establish its credibility, or weigh it against other information known or developed by the FBI,” said Dunham to Comer.
“It’s clear from the FBI’s response that the unclassified record the Oversight Committee subpoenaed exists, but they are refusing to provide it to the Committee,” explained Comer.
“We’ve asked the FBI to not only provide this record but to also inform us what it did to investigate these allegations. The FBI has failed to do both. The FBI’s position is “trust, but you aren’t allowed to verify. That is unacceptable,” said Comer.
The declaration followed two days after an earlier assertion from Comer, in which he said his panel “will report to you only facts when they are verified and indisputable.” He was referring to the Biden family and associates’ receipts of transfers to businesses linked to them.
Comer added, “This committee will not pursue witch hunts or string the American people along for years with false promises of evidence that is beyond circumstantial evidence.”
The bureau has yet to confirm whether any of the previously mentioned claims involving the prospective financial form are confirmed as of Sunday. It is still being determined if the agency has begun to vet those assertions.
