On Wednesday, the White House lashed out at House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer over the Republican lawmaker’s threat to begin contempt of Congress proceedings against FBI Director Christopher Wray over his refusal to comply with a subpoena to turn over a document related to an alleged bribery scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national, The Hill reported.
On Wednesday, Chairman Comer warned that contempt proceedings would begin against Director Wray unless he turned over the FD-1023 forms requested last month.
And FD-1023 is an official FBI record of an interaction with a confidential human source.
In a subpoena sent in early May, Comer and Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley informed Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland that they had been made aware of an unclassified FD-1023 form that alleged a criminal scheme between a foreign national and then-Vice President Biden to affect policy decisions in exchange for money.
The Republicans ordered Wray to provide all FD-1033 forms that were “created or modified in June 2020” in which the name “Biden” appears.
Despite multiple subpoenas for the requested documents, Director Wray has refused to comply.
During a phone call with Comer on Wednesday, Wray reportedly offered to let the Oversight Committee view the documents at FBI headquarters, an offer Comer rejected.
Comer said in a statement following the call that the Oversight Committee had been clear that “anything short of producing these documents” would not be complying with the committee’s subpoena.
In a statement on Wednesday, Ian Sams, the spokesman for the White House Counsel’s office, called Comer’s threat a “silly charade” and referred to the Oversight Committee’s investigations as “political stunts” designed to spread falsehoods and “thin innuendo” against President Biden.
In his statement, Ian Sams accused Chairman Comer of using the contempt of Congress threat as a way to “hurt the President’s poll numbers.”
