{"id":1622485,"date":"2022-08-26T07:48:44","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T11:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1622485"},"modified":"2022-08-26T07:52:35","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T11:52:35","slug":"two-top-republicans-want-to-interview-fbi-agents-behind-controversial-hunter-biden-briefing-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-top-republicans-want-to-interview-fbi-agents-behind-controversial-hunter-biden-briefing-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Top Republicans Want to Interview FBI Agents Behind Controversial Hunter Biden Briefing in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftwo-top-republicans-want-to-interview-fbi-agents-behind-controversial-hunter-biden-briefing-in-2020%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1622485&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"RichTextArticleBody\">\n<div class=\"RichTextArticleBody-body\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"ArticlePage-articleBody-firstLetter\">T<\/span>wo top <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republicans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Senate Republicans<\/a> want to interview the <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fbi\">FBI<\/a> officials behind a controversial summer 2020 FBI briefing on Russia. <\/p>\n<p>Sens. <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-grassley\">Chuck Grassley<\/a> (R-IA) and <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ron-johnson\">Ron Johnson<\/a> (R-WI) sent a letter to the two FBI employees on Thursday, alleging the August 2020 briefing was &#8220;unnecessary and was only done because of pressure from our Democratic colleagues, including Democratic Leadership, to falsely attack our Biden investigation as advancing Russian disinformation.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>The senators named Nikki Floris, the intelligence analyst in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office\u2019s intelligence division, and Bradley Benavides, the deputy assistant director of the FBI Washington Field Office\u2019s counterintelligence division, as being <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/grassley-johnson-controversial-2020-hunter-biden-fbi-briefing\">the officials who provided the Russia-related briefing on Aug. 6, 2020<\/a>. The senators want the duo to appear for a transcribed interview in September. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSimply put, the unnecessary FBI briefing provided the Democrats and liberal media the vehicle to spread their false narrative that our work advanced Russian disinformation,\u201d Grassley and Johnson wrote. \u201cAlthough you stated that the FBI didn\u2019t intend to \u2018interfere\u2019 in our investigation, the practical effect of such an unnecessary briefing and the subsequent leaks relating to it created interference, which frustrated and obstructed congressional oversight efforts.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/whistleblowers-fbi-slow-walked-hunter-biden-investigation-johnson\">WHISTLEBLOWERS SAY FBI SLOW-WALKED HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATION<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\">\n<figure class=\"Figure mb-1 mb-sm-3 mb-md-1 article-lead-photo data_invisible\" data-align=\"center\" data-image-size=\"fixed\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n<div class=\"Figure-container\"><source media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" type=\"image\/webp\" data-image-size=\"1060x600_md\" \/><source media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" data-image-size=\"1060x600_md\" \/><source media=\"(max-width: 1440px)\" type=\"image\/webp\" data-image-size=\"1060x600_xl\" \/><source media=\"(max-width: 1440px)\" data-image-size=\"1060x600_xl\" \/><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-image-size=\"1060x600\" \/><source data-image-size=\"1060x600\" \/><figcaption class=\"Figure-caption\" itemprop=\"caption\">\n                Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, gives a thumbs-up as he stands on stage in Wilmington, Delaware.<br \/>\n               <\/figcaption><div class=\"Figure-credit\" itemprop=\"author\">\n                (AP Photo\/Andrew Harnik)\n               <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The senators said they had repeatedly raised the issue with FBI Director <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/christopher-wray\">Christopher Wray<\/a>. The request comes after whistleblower disclosures claimed the bureau <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/whistleblowers-hunter-biden-wrongly-labeled-disinformation-fbi\">improperly labeled evidence on Hunter Biden \u201cdisinformation\u201d around the same time<\/a> as the briefing. <\/p>\n<p>The two Republicans said the briefing itself \u201cconsisted primarily of information that we already knew and information unconnected to our Biden investigation\u201d and that \u201cwe made clear to you at the briefing that it was not relevant to the substance of our work.\u201d The senators quoted the FBI as saying at the time that it was not attempting to \u201cquash, curtail, or interfere\u201d in their Biden family investigation. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe also made clear our concern that the briefing would be subject to a leak that would shed a false light on the focus of our investigation,\u201d Grassley and Johnson said, <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/rudy-giuliani-fbi-warning-russia\/2021\/04\/29\/5db90f96-a84e-11eb-bca5-048b2759a489_story.html\">pointing<\/a> to a <i>Washington Post<\/i> story that they said \u201cdid exactly that.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/wray-discipline-crossfire-hurricane-slowed-down-cooperation-durham-investigation\">CROSSFIRE HURRICANE DISCIPLINE SLOWED DUE TO DURHAM INVESTIGATION<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Grassley and Johnson said Thursday that they have repeatedly requested \u201crelevant records relating to what happened at the briefing, including the 302 or similar summary, the intelligence basis for the briefing and the personnel involved in making the decision to brief us,\u201d but that the FBI has \u201cconsistently failed to respond in full to each request and failed to provide those critical records which casts further doubt on the true purpose for the briefing.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhistleblowers have recently alleged that in August 2020, the same month you provided the briefing to us, FBI officials initiated a scheme to downplay derogatory information on Hunter Biden for the purpose of shutting down investigative activity relating to his potential criminal exposure by labeling it disinformation,\u201d the senators told the FBI officials. <\/p>\n<p>Wray said he <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/wray-fbi-whistleblower-claims-hunter-biden-inquiry-deeply-troubling\">found the whistleblower allegations &#8220;deeply troubling\u201d<\/a> when asked about them in early August. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhistleblowers have also alleged that local FBI leadership instructed employees not to look at the Hunter Biden laptop immediately after the FBI had obtained it,\u201d the senators said Thursday. <\/p>\n<p>Johnson said this week that whistleblowers told him that local FBI leadership told bureau employees that <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/whistleblowers-fbi-slow-walked-hunter-biden-investigation-johnson\">\u201cyou will not look at that Hunter Biden laptop\u201d<\/a> and that the FBI is \u201cnot going to change the outcome of the election again.\u201d Johnson said the new whistleblower claims \u201callege that the FBI did not begin to examine the contents of Hunter Biden\u2019s laptop until after the 2020 presidential election \u2014 potentially a year after the FBI obtained the laptop in Dec. 2019.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n<p>The Grassley-Johnson <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/grassley-and-johnson-revive-arguments-on-biden-family-links-to-china\">report<\/a> on the Biden family and Hunter Biden\u2019s business dealings in Ukraine and China was released in September 2020. <\/p>\n<p>Joe Biden\u2019s campaign and its allies <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense-national-security\/stay-silent-or-double-down-what-hunter-biden-intel-letter-signees-are-doing-now\">dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop story as a Russian disinformation operation<\/a> in October 2020. Konstantinos &#8220;Gus&#8221; Dimitrelos, a cyber expert and former Secret Service agent, <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/hunter-bidens-laptop-is-100-authentic-forensic-examination-concludes\">conducted a review<\/a> for the <i>Washington Examiner<\/i> and <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/hunter-biden-russian-escorts-joe-payments\">concluded<\/a> that &#8220;the data contained on the hard drive is authentic.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two top Senate Republicans want to interview the FBI officials behind a controversial summer 2020 FBI briefing on Russia. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1622487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1622485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1622485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1622485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1622485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1622487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1622485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1622485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1622485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}