House Oversight Chairman James Comer called off a vote to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress.
Comer reportedly forced the FBI to cooperate and allow the full committee to review the document alleging Joe Biden engaged in a $5 million bribery scheme with a foreign national.
“The FBI will allow all members of our committee to review the Biden bribery record and receive a briefing,” the House Oversight Committee tweeted.
🚨BREAKING🚨
@RepJamesComer forces the FBI to cooperate!
The FBI will allow all members of our committee to review the Biden bribery record and receive a briefing.
We will continue to follow the facts and ensure accountability for the American people.— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) June 8, 2023
“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,” Comer said in a statement.
🚨After weeks of refusing to even admit the FD-1023 record exists, the FBI has agreed to cooperate and is now allowing all members of the Oversight Committee to review this unclassified record alleging a bribery scheme by then VP Biden.
More here👇https://t.co/pyjmEuf2MY
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) June 8, 2023
The House Oversight Committee said in a press release:
“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. 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.
“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. We also know the confidential human source who provided this information is highly credible and trusted, has worked with the FBI for over a decade, and has been paid six figures.
“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.”
Politico reports:
Comer quickly characterized the deal as a win, saying that the FBI had “caved.” But the Kentucky Republican had previously pledged to hold the contempt vote in his committee unless the FBI physically turned a copy of the document over to the panel. He had announced the Thursday vote on Monday after he and Raskin were able to see the document and got a briefing, but were not given the document.
But people familiar with the offer told POLITICO earlier Wednesday that the FBI was now offering to let the full committee review the document in an apparent bid to find an off-ramp to prevent the committee vote. Comer, in a joint Fox News interview with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) just hours before the agreement was announced, confirmed the bureau had put new potential deals on the table and was actively negotiating.
The deal is in line with a bar set by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who said repeatedly that if Wray let the whole panel see the document, there would not be a need to hold a vote on holding the FBI director in contempt. Speaking with reporters earlier Wednesday, McCarthy pointed to Comer as deserving the credit for any agreement.
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