McCarthy thinks Congress will obtain FBI record on alleged Biden bribery.

House Speaker McCarthy Hopeful Congress Will Obtain Alleged FBI Record Linking Biden to Bribery Scheme

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) expressed optimism on May 21 that Congress would obtain an FBI record that allegedly links President Joe Biden to a pay-to-play bribery scheme while he was vice president under President Barack Obama. McCarthy confirmed he had a phone call with FBI director Christopher Wray on May 19 about the requested document. The progress comes more than a week after the bureau failed to comply with a subpoena the House Oversight and Accountability Committee issued earlier this month.

Subpoena for Internal Note

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, filed a subpoena to Wray on May 3 seeking an internal note, called an FD-1023, which recorded information from confidential human sources. Comer, along with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), revealed in a separate letter that they received “legally protected and highly credible unclassified whistleblower disclosures.”

Whistleblower’s Tip

The whistleblower’s tip indicated that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI possessed an unclassified document that “describes an alleged criminal scheme involving then-vice president Joe Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions,” according to a letter to Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland dated May 3.

The deadline set in Comer’s subpoena was May 10. But the FBI has so far failed to produce the document. Instead, Christopher Dunham, acting assistant director for congressional affairs, sent a letter (pdf) to Comer on May 10 saying the FBI would “be pleased to coordinate with your staff to discuss whether and how we can accommodate your request without violating our law enforcement and national security obligations.”

McCarthy previously described the FBI’s response as “unacceptable.” On Sunday, the congressman said he had already spoken to Wray and expected the FBI to give lawmakers the document.

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