Comer attacks FBI over Biden-Ukraine bribery claims.

Congress vs FBI: Standoff Over Allegations of Corruption Involving President Biden and Ukraine

A high-stakes standoff between Congress and the FBI is set to escalate in the coming days over allegations of corruption involving President Joe Biden and Ukraine. House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced his committee will move forward with holding FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress because the bureau is defying a subpoena for a file containing the allegations.

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The FBI confirmed the unclassified record alleging then-VP Biden engaged in a $5 million bribery scheme is from a highly credible informant & being used in an ongoing investigation.

The FBI refused to hand over the doc.

I will hold Director Wray in contempt of Congress pic.twitter.com/2p1fNdmBJ1

— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) June 5, 2023

The FBI allowed Comer and the top Democrat on the oversight panel, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), to view the file in a secure room at the U.S. Capitol but not take custody of it. Comer declared in a statement that “Congress must investigate further” given the severity and complexity of the allegations contained within the record.

Contempt Hearings and Possible Criminal Referral

The oversight panel is expected to initiate contempt hearings on Thursday, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told Fox News the full House will take up the issue next week. If the chamber approves a criminal contempt referral to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Wray could face a fine and up to a year’s imprisonment if federal prosecutors take up the case.

Such a rebuke of the bureau’s chief could happen as some GOP lawmakers are talking about defunding or disbanding the FBI amid concerns about the agency becoming politically weaponized.

Allegations of a $5 Million Bribery Scheme

Prompted to take action by whistleblower disclosures, Comer says the unclassified record he wants to obtain describes an alleged scheme involving Biden, dating back to his time as vice president, and a foreign national. The file references some variant of “five million” and “June 30, 2020.”

The date mentioned by Comer lands on the calendar about two weeks after Ukrainian officials announced there had been a $5 million bribe aimed at ending an investigation into the founder of Burisma Holdings, the same Ukrainian gas company at which Biden’s son, Hunter, served on the board for several years.

On Tuesday, Comer confirmed the document pertains to Ukraine and that it fits a pattern seen with other countries, such as Romania, and suspicious transactions involving millions of dollars that have been linked to members of Biden’s family.

Raskin said FBI officials shared that the DOJ under the Trump administration looked into the information from a confidential human source about conversations with individuals in Ukraine and top brass signed off on closing an assessment in August 2020 after investigators were unable to corroborate the claims.

The Democrat also said much of the information mirrors allegations that Rudy Giuliani, who served as a personal lawyer to former President Trump, brought forward along with Andrii Derkach, a Russian-backed Ukrainian politician now sanctioned by the United States, around the time of the Ukraine-focused impeachment inquiry.

White House Dismisses Inquiry as Political Exercise

The president’s team has dismissed Comer’s inquiry as nothing more than a political exercise. White House spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement