Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) spoke from the Senate floor on Monday and alleged FBI Director Christopher Wray unnecessarily redacted large portions of an "already unclassified" FD-1023 confidential human source (CHS) report that was shown to the House Oversight Committee chaired by Sen. James Comer (R-KY). Remarkably, Grassley also revealed Director Wray redacted critical references to 17 audio recordings of conversations between the Ukrainian owner of Burisma Holdings Limited, Mykola Zlochevsky, and then-Vice President Biden and his son Hunter. The conversations allegedly involved a pay-to-play scheme. Grassley stated the legacy media called the scheme "disinformation" to gaslight the public and then proceeded to cover it up to protect the Biden family.
According to Grassley, the 1023 states the 17 audio recordings possessed by the "foreign national" include "fifteen audio recordings of phone calls between him and Hunter Biden...and two audio recordings of phone calls between him and then-Vice President Joe Biden. The 1023 also indicates that then-Vice President Joe Biden may have been involved in Burisma employing Hunter Biden," Grassley added.
The recordings were "kept by Zlochevsky," according to Grassley, as a kind of "insurance policy in case he got into a tight spot." Grassley reminded everyone that he had "read the unredacted version." Sen. Grassley and Chairman Comer made public the allegations of the bribery scheme in a May 3 letter to Wray. The House Oversight Committee also subpoenaed Hunter Biden's friend and ex-business partner Devon Archer to testify on May 16 at 9:30 a.m.
The 1023 reportedly shows a "highly credible" paid CHS who worked for the FBI for over ten years. The 1023 reportedly states the CHS identified Zlochevsky as the person who bribed the Bidens to influence policy decisions during the Obama administration. According to the 1023, Zlochevsky allegedly told the CHS that he paid $5 million to VP Biden and $5 million to Hunter Biden to motivate the firing of Viktor Shokin, the prosecutor who was investigating corruption at Burisma. UncoverDC reported on the Bidens' alleged pay-to-play scheme timeline with Burisma in October 2020.
Curiously, the FBI provided a redacted version of the 1023 to the House Oversight Committee on the same day the Justice Department "announced that former President Trump had been indicted and charged with 37 crimes relating to his alleged mishandling of classified records," said Grassley. Per Grassley, the charges reference "conduct similar to what Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton engaged in" but for which they were never indicted.
FBI Refuses to Hand Over 1023 Despite Multiple Requests
According to a May 19 press release from the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, Chairman Comer subpoenaed the 1023 record on May 3, 2023, "with a return date of May 10." However, the FBI missed the deadline and refused to provide the document.
Comer then followed with a second letter to Wray on May 19 asking for "[a]ll FD-1023 forms, including within any open, closed, or restricted access case files, created or modified in June 2020, containing the term "Biden," including all accompanying attachments and documents to those FD-1023 forms." The FBI reportedly told Comer that the search term was too broad. The Oversight Committee agreed to narrow its search terms. In the same letter, Comer and Grassley state that the FBI met with them in person on May 15 but failed to produce the requested form. Instead, the "FBI staff stated they were not authorized to disclose whether the form exists."
Comer sent a third letter on May 24 indicating a meeting took place between the FBI staff and Committee Counsel, "where FBI staff provided general information" regarding its CHS program. However, according to the letter, FBI staff again stated they were "not authorized to even acknowledge the existence of the FD-1023 form." The FBI reportedly said they were trying to protect their sources; however, the Committee told FBI staff that they were not "seeking the identity of the CHS who provided the information to the FBI," the letter states.
According to the third letter, Chairman Comer then allowed "six more days to produce the form," telling FBI staff that a failure to comply with the subpoena by May 30 would result in the initiation of "contempt of Congress proceedings." In his June 12 speech, Grassley stated, "instead of contempt, the FBI committed to showing the 1023 and related documents to Congress...but didn't provide possession of that 1023 to the House Oversight Committee last week." The full timeline and purpose of the investigation conducted by the Oversight Committee can be found here.
Comer Lays Out Allegations in a June 13 OpEd
In an OpEd for Fox News published on June 13, Comer says the FBI has been "dragging its feet on the investigation into Joe Biden and his family's possible influence peddling." He explains that the Oversight Committee has already "obtained thousands of pages of financial records related to the Biden family and has traced millions of dollars from China and Romania to the Biden family and their associates."
Comer alleges Joe Biden has "repeatedly lied to the American people about his family's business dealings." He also writes that the FBI "appears to have run defense for the Bidens" instead of doing what it is supposed to do—investigate crimes without regard to politics. Comer sets the record straight in the OpEd with the following comments:
Comer OpEd/https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/joe-biden-sell-out-america-4-things-know-democrats-claims
Comer also alleges the Bidens have covered their tracks by running funds through "their network of over 20 limited liability companies," using "complicated financial transactions to hide the sources of the money and evade detection." In addition, Comer confirms that despite claims from Democrats to the contrary, the Biden investigation was never closed. Former AG William Barr also went on the record on June 7 to state that the case "was sent to Delaware for further investigation," contradicting specific claims made by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).
FISA Hearing: Grassley and Cruz Confront Deputy Director Abbate
On Tuesday, during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to review Section 702 of the FISA (surveillance authority) chaired by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Grassley confronted FBI Deputy Director Abbate over the FBI's investigation process. Grassley asked whether the process of receiving criminal allegations of bribery involving an office holder was applied equally, regardless of party. Grassley wondered why the FBI didn't apply the same standards in the Biden 1023. Abbate answered that the FBI applies the correct standards if they "meet the threshold for the opening of an investigation," an answer that failed to satisfy Grassley.
Abbate also refused to answer questions posed by Sen. Cruz (R-TX), who angrily explained Americans are "deeply disturbed" by the corruption and politicization of investigations run by the FBI. Cruz told Abbate the "FBI has unlimited hubris" and is stonewalling the entire Biden investigation.
