james comer biden bribery files fbi
© REUTERS/ Craig HudsonHouse Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a legally binding subpoena last week requiring the FBI to turn over the file by noon Wednesday.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said no deal Wednesday after FBI Director Christopher Wray offered to let him privately review an informant file alleging President Biden was involved in a bribery scheme while vice president.

Comer (R-Ky.) said after his early-afternoon call with Wray that the FBI chief confirmed the existence of an FD-1023 informant file from June 2020 accusing Biden of corruption and offered Comer and committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) "in camera review" of the document.

The FBI had refused to share the document ahead of a Tuesday deadline following a May 3 subpoena from Comer, which the chairman said he would enforce with contempt proceedings against Wray.

In a statement following the call, Comer indicated the document standoff would continue, saying: "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. However, Director Wray did not commit to producing the documents subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee.


"While Director Wray - after a month of refusing to even acknowledge that the form existed - has offered to allow us to see the documents in person at FBI headquarters, we have been clear that anything short of producing these documents to the House Oversight Committee is not in compliance with the subpoena," Comer went on. "If the FBI fails to hand over the FD-1023 form as required by the subpoena, the House Oversight Committee will begin contempt of Congress proceedings."

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who also was on the call, chimed in, "While the FBI has apparently leaked classified information to the news media in recent weeks, jeopardizing its own human sources, it continues to treat Congress like second-class citizens by refusing to provide a specific unclassified record."

He added: "Director Wray confirmed what my whistleblowers have told me pursuant to legally protected disclosures: the FBI-generated document is real, but the bureau has yet to provide it to Congress in defiance of a legitimate congressional subpoena. This failure comes with consequences."

An FBI spokesperson said, "During today's call, Director Wray offered to provide the Committee's Chairman and Ranking Member an opportunity to review information responsive to the subpoena in a secure manner to accommodate the committee, while protecting the confidentiality and safety of sources and important investigative sensitivities."

The bureau argued that "[t]he FBI has continually demonstrated its commitment to working with the Committee to accommodate its request, from scheduling briefings and calls to now allowing the Chair to review information in person. The FBI remains committed to cooperating with the Committee in good faith."

Meanwhile, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby denied Wednesday that Biden is a crook in response to a question from The Post about a recent Harvard-Harris poll that found 53% of the public — including a quarter of Democrats — believe "Joe Biden was involved with his son in an illegal influence peddling scheme."

"Wow," Kirby exhaled after hearing the question at a press briefing, as White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre exclaimed, "Jesus!"

Sources told The Post that in Wray's early-afternoon call with Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley, the FBI chief confirmed the existence of an FD-1023 informant file from June 2020 accusing Biden of bribery.AP

"The president has spoken to this. And there's nothing to these claims," Kirby ultimately responded.

"And as to the whistleblower issue that you talked about and the document, I believe the FBI has spoken to that and you're going to have to go to them on that."

During and immediately after his vice presidency, Joe Biden interacted with first son Hunter Biden and first brother James Biden's associates from China, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine, according to files from Hunter's abandoned laptop, photographs and witness recollections.