The FBI does not deny it has a whistleblower document alleging then-Vice President Joseph R. Biden engaged in a bribery scheme with a foreign national. But it won’t turn the document over to Congress.
Bureau officials told the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Wednesday they would not comply with a subpoena seeking the whistleblower report.
In a five-page letter, the FBI’s acting assistant director of the office of congressional affairs, Christopher Dunham, did not acknowledge the specific whistleblower report, known as an FD-1023 form.
But he said the bureau must shield such documents in order to protect “confidential human sources and information.”
Mr. Dunham said handing over such a document, even though it is not classified, could result in outsiders “reviewing unverified…information out of context” without protecting the integrity and the confidentiality of the sources and the information.
“Significant harm to investigative work — and to the programs as a whole — could result from dissemination of FD-1023s or other similar documents,” Mr. Dunham said.
The response comes one week after Committee Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican, subpoenaed the FBI for the document, which was filed with the FBI in June 2020 could provide direct evidence of Mr. Biden engaging in corrupt behavior while in public office.
Mr. Comer said the whistleblower is “credible,” and he will take additional actions to obtain the form from the FBI, but did not provide details.
“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,” Mr. Comer said. “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. We plan to follow up with the FBI and expect compliance with the subpoena.”
The Oversight panel Wednesday released details of its investigation into Biden family members and their business associates that revealed they had received $10 million in payments from foreign entities, much of it while Mr. Biden was serving as vice president.
Mr. Biden denies knowledge or participation in any of the business deals.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, who issued the request for the document with Mr. Comer, said the FBI’s response Wednesday offered to provide an “accommodation process.” Mr. Grassley said it indicates the whistleblower report exists, even though the FBI has never publicly acknowledged it.
Mr. Grassley said the report, according to a source, includes “a precise description of how the alleged criminal scheme was employed as well as its purpose.”
Mr. Grassley said Republicans want to know whether the FBI acted to investigate “very serious allegations from an apparent trusted FBI source implicating then-Vice President Biden.”
“The American people pay the FBI’s salaries, and they’re entitled to a fulsome response,” he said.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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