FBI defies subpoena in Biden corruption case – Reuters

The FBI has again refused to hand over congressional subpoenas relating to allegations of a bribery scheme allegedly perpetrated by then-Vice President Joe Biden, escalating a row with House Republicans over the management of the case by the agency.

The latest refusal to comply with the subpoena came during an FBI briefing from the US House Oversight Committee on Monday. At issue is a so-called FD-1023 form, which details accusations that President Biden accepted foreign bribes in exchange for political favors when he was President Barack Obama’s vice president.

FBI officials previously missed a May 10 deadline to provide the requested documents to Congress. At the time, the agency claimed the allegations against Biden were unverified and that FD-1023 should be kept private to protect FBI informants. Ironically, a four-year investigation led by US Special Counsel John Durham found the FBI wrongly launched an investigation into Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign based on unverified allegations passed to the agency. by rival candidate Hillary Clinton.

“This allegation happened a long time ago, and the FBI did nothing,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said in an interview with Fox News on Monday. “We want to know exactly what they did. We don’t just want the record, but we want to know what action they took. »

Comer said Republican members of the committee were so concerned about the case because the allegations “adapt to a pattern” of then-Vice President Biden flying to countries like Romania, playing an unusually active role in U.S. foreign policy decisions, and then receiving wire transfers from those countries to bank accounts tied to his family.

“This is one of the most serious charges ever brought against a political leader in the history of our country,” he added. Comer said. “And for the FBI to act like, ‘Well, we don’t know, we can’t tell you. Trust us. . . .’ It is not normal for the children and grandchildren of the President of the United States, his in-laws, his nieces and his nephews to receive telegrams from foreign nationals.

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, said Sunday he called FBI Director Christopher Wray on Friday to demand the Biden dossier. “I believe that after this call, we will obtain this document”, he said.

Comer said the US media began reporting on the case because the American public was following it closely, despite their efforts to ignore or downplay the allegations against Biden. “The American people don’t want to see public corruption” he said. “They expect Congress to investigate public corruption.”

The US Department of Justice officially closed an investigation into the Clinton family foundation in August 2021, seven months after Biden took office as president, and the FBI destroyed all evidence compiled during the investigation. , according to a New York Times article published on Monday. .