WASHINGTON — House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced Monday that his committee will begin proceedings against FBI Director Christopher Wray for holding him in contempt of Congress, a move the agency called “unnecessary.”
The decision came after the FBI spent more than an hour on Capitol Hill Monday briefing Comer and Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., to review a document detailing allegations that Joe Biden took bribes. As Vice President.
Speaking to reporters outside a secure conference room afterward, Comer said, “The FBI has again refused to hand over an unclassified record to the group’s custody.” “We will now begin contempt of congressional hearings this Thursday.”
“FBI officials have confirmed that the unclassified FBI-generated recording has not been authenticated and is currently being used in the investigation,” Comer said.
Ruskin told reporters that he was not aware of the ongoing investigation, but added that he was “not privy to” some of the information Comer had access to. He said he was aware of reports released by the U.S. attorney about ongoing investigations in Delaware of ties to the president’s son, Hunter Biden.
In a statement, the FBI said it cooperated with Gomer’s request.
“The FBI has consistently demonstrated its commitment to accommodate the committee’s request, including by producing the document in a reading room at the U.S. Capitol. These common sense safeguards are often used in response to congressional requests and to protect important concerns such as the physical safety of evidence and the integrity of investigations,” the statement said.
“It is unnecessary to escalate to a contempt vote in these circumstances,” it added.
Ian Sams, the White House press secretary for oversight and investigations, said in a statement that the committee’s action was “another disingenuous stunt by President Comer, not to exercise legal oversight, but to try to politically damage the president. Bring himself media attention.”
who came Subpoenaed the FBI Last month, he and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Describes a criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden “relating to the transfer of money for policy decisions.” Comer has accused the scheme of being involved $5 million payout from a foreign national in exchange for policy decisions.
Raskin said Monday that the FBI team provided the document that says former Attorney General William Barr named Scott Brady, then the U.S. attorney for western Pennsylvania, to investigate allegations against Trump ally Rudy Giuliani. Raskin said the investigation was over.
“So, if there is a complaint, the complaint is with Attorney General William Barr, the Trump Department of Justice and the team the Trump administration appointed to investigate it,” Raskin said.
The FBI and Brady also reviewed other information about Hunter Biden’s dealings in Ukraine when Brady was indicted in 2020, a senior law enforcement official said Friday. However, the allegation of bribery has not been proved, the official said.
The White House has criticized the investigations, arguing that the investigations are politically motivated and designed to hurt Biden’s re-election chances.
Comer has previously threatened to libel Ray over the document after the FBI refused to provide it. An FBI official wrote to Comer last month that Justice Department policy “strictly restricts when and how confidential human resource information can be provided outside the FBI.”
