1 of 4 | The House Oversight Committee will hold a contempt of Congress hearing on Christopher Wray (pictured in May), director of the FBI, over Wray allegedly withholding records relating to an investigation into President Joe Biden, according to Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI |
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June 5 (UPI) -- House Republicans will hold a contempt of Congress hearing on Thursday over FBI Director Christopher Wray allegedly withholding records, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said Monday.
Comer and ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., met with FBI officials on Monday to review allegations that President Joe Biden had accepted a bribe while serving as vice president, according to NBC News. Comer alleges that FBI officials refused to turn over an "unclassified record" to the committee.
In a press release following the briefing, Comer said the FBI officials confirmed that the "unclassified, FBI-generated record has not been disproven" and that the information in the record is being used as part of an ongoing investigation. He described the source of the information as a trusted, "highly credible" confidential informant.
According to Comer, the accusation is that Biden took a $5 million bribe from a foreign national in exchange for "certain actions."
"Given the severity and complexity of the allegations contained within this record, Congress must investigate further," Comer said in a statement.
Raskin had a different viewpoint of the briefing, saying that the investigation Comer alluded to has ended. He also said the complaint was made to the Justice Department under President Donald Trump and to former Attorney General William Barr.
According to Raskin, Barr appointed Scott Brady, a U.S. attorney for Western Pennsylvania at the time, to investigate the allegations. He suggested that Rudy Giuliani was the informant.
"The FBI and Department of Justice under Attorney General Barr and Scott Brady terminated the investigation. They said there were no grounds for further investigative steps," Raskin said, CNN reports. "My understanding is there is an ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden relating to gun charges and one or two other things taking place in Delaware. But I don't know of any connection between that criminal investigation and the document that we saw today."
Comer has long sought information on the president and his son, Hunter Biden. He launched a broad investigation into the Biden family early in 2023. In March, he subpoenaed bank records from Hunter Biden's business associates.
Raskin, meanwhile, has accused Comer of overreach and being politically motivated.
"I write to you to express my deep concern with the manner in which the committee is conducting its investigation into presidential ethics," Raskin wrote to Comer in March.
"You appear to have engaged in these efforts to prevent the production of evidence of former President Trump's misconduct during his time in office while simultaneously issuing an invasive and overbroad subpoena to private individuals as part of an investigation targeting the business dealings of family members of President Biden who have never held public office."
Raskin has also accused Comer of withholding information related to the investigation from him and other Democrats. Other Republican chairs have faced the same accusations, including Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
