• The war on free speech is really a war on the right to criticize the government
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr: 'There is no time in history where the people who were censoring speech were the good guys'
• Yakov Rabkin: I left the USSR to enjoy free speech in the West. Fifty years later, it no longer exists
• 'Massive attack against freedom of speech': Elon Musk condemns Ireland's Orwellian hate speech bill
• Time is running out to speak freely about free speech
• Elon Musk discloses decade-old censorship code buried in Twitter algorithms

The announcement, accompanied by alleged photo and video evidence, was shared on social media accounts of the so-called "Polish Volunteer Corps."

The statement appears to refer to an incursion by saboteurs into the Grayvoron District of Belgorod Region, which took place on May 22.

The "Polish Volunteer Corps" said it unequivocally confirmed its role in the operation, stating that the group collaborated with the Russian Volunteer Corps, a neo-Nazi unit of Russian nationals fighting on behalf of Ukraine under the authority of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

In a bid to prove its role in the May 22 raid, fighters from the Polish Volunteer Corps shared videos, in which they can be seen with Ukrainian T-72B tanks, American HMMWV armored vehicles, and Mi-8 helicopters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The governor of Belgorod Region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, also mentioned the presence of Polish citizens among the saboteurs. On his Telegram channel, he recounted the story of a woman, whose husband - a member of the local self-defense forces - was killed in front of her. According to Gladkov, the woman was held captive by two Ukrainians, and she stated that the other group members were Poles and Americans.

Previously, the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry discussed the involvement of the "Russian Volunteer Corps" and members of the "Freedom of Russia" legion in the Belgorod Region operation.

However, the "Russian Volunteer Corps" issued a statement on Sunday denying that members of the "Polish Volunteer Corps" had crossed the Russian border. The group claimed on social media that their Polish fellow combatants were involved in tasks such as prisoner escort, along with military and medical logistics, but strictly within the borders of Ukraine.

Warsaw has insisted it has nothing to do with the Polish militants fighting for Kiev. "The activities of Polish volunteers supporting Ukraine in the fight against Russia should not be identified with the authorities of the Republic of Poland", said Stanislaw Zaryn, spokesman for the coordinating minister of the country's special services.

[...]

The specific document being sought is an FD-1023 form, an FBI record that contains an unverified report from a confidential source. Comer and Grassley's subpoena originally requested that Wray turn over all such documents created during the month of June 2020 that contained the word "Biden" to the House Oversight panel by May 30. The FBI failed to meet Tuesday's deadline.

Instead, Wray sent a letter to Comer on Tuesday, promising to giving lawmakers access to the requested information "in a format and setting that maintains confidentiality and protects important security interests and the integrity of FBI investigations." The FBI director also held a phone call with Comer and Grassley on Wednesday to discuss the bureau's decision further, offering the lawmakers "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 told Newsweek via email later that day.

Comer was unsatisfied by his conversation with Wray, however, promising again Wednesday evening to move forward with contempt of Congress charges if the document is not released to his committee.

"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," read a statement posted to Comer's Twitter account. "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 continued.

Newsweek has reached out to Comer's office via email for further comment on Wednesday's phone call.

What's in an FD-1023?

According to the FBI, an FD-1023 form is "used by FBI agents to record unverified reporting by a confidential human source." The record, however, does not validate the source's information, the bureau told Newsweek, nor does it "weigh" the source's record against other verified information obtained by the FBI.

"Revealing unverified or possibly incomplete information could harm investigations, prejudice prosecutions or judicial proceedings, unfairly violate privacy or reputations, create misimpressions in the public, or potentially identify individuals who provide information to law enforcement, placing their physical safety at risk," read a statement from the FBI.

"Information from confidential human sources and members of the public is critical to the work of the FBI and we are also committed to protecting the confidentiality of anyone who comes forward," the bureau added.

In the letter to Comer on Tuesday, Christopher Dunham, acting assistant director of the FBI, said that there are "significant limits on whether, when, and how confidential human source information can be provided outside of the FBI," reiterating that the caveats "are critical to the physical safety of our sources and others identified in source reporting, as well as to the integrity of our confidential human source program and longstanding Department of Justice confidentiality interests."

According to former FBI agent Tracy Walder, who spoke with NewsNation host Dan Abrams on Tuesday, FD-1023s are rarely shared outside of the bureau's possession "because the reality is, we want to protect our sources and methods."

"When we are releasing source information out into the public realm, that makes people then have a little bit of trepidation about coming to the FBI ... if they are not going to be protected," Walder continued.

What Republicans Want With the Document

Comer's pressure on the FBI is part of a larger promise by GOP lawmakers to increase its oversight of the Biden administration, claiming that federal law enforcement has been "weaponized" under the current White House.

Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who serves on the House Oversight Committee, has also expressed her intent of moving articles of impeachment against Biden over the whistleblower's accusations.

It remains unclear what exactly is contained within the sought-after FD-1023, however, and neither Comer nor Grassley have provided details regarding the accusations against the president. David A. Bateman, associate professor of government at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, previously told Newsweek that the accusations against Biden should be treated with "skepticism" and called Comer and Grassley's subpoena "a PR move."

"The very specificity of the claim — the repeated invocation of form FD-1023 — should be a tell," Bateman said. "They could just say that someone has made an allegation which they are planning to investigate, which as I understand it is what an FD-1023 form is, but that would be less tantalizing than teasing the possibility of a government document providing concrete evidence of a crime."

"If they can produce credible evidence, they will produce it," he added. "Until then, or until they've established a track record of producing real evidence, there's neither much real worry of impeachment nor any reason to participate in the hype job."

• Joe Biden bribery allegations were brought to DOJ in 2018 — two years before similar claims by whistleblower
• Rudy Giuliani to Newsmax TV: Joe Biden got 50 percent of 'bribe money'
• Biden's 'criminal BRIBERY' scheme with a foreigner: GOP claims then-VP offered cash for access