Amidst the congressional Republicans’ scrutiny of President Joe Biden’s financial background, a particular aspect raises uncertainty: the claim that, during his tenure as vice president, Biden illicitly received a $5 million bribe from the corrupt Ukrainian energy company, Burisma. This alleged scheme also implicates Biden’s son, Hunter, who was lucratively employed by Burisma despite offering little substantial work in return for his approximate annual salary of $1 million.
The focal point of concern revolves around a document called form FD-1023, an FBI record that allegedly documents conversations between a confidential human source and a foreign individual who claimed to have bribed then-Vice President Joe Biden. According to Representative James Comer (R-KY), the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, the FBI’s confidential human source is not a dubious character but rather a trusted individual who has collaborated with the FBI for more than a decade and received compensation exceeding $200,000 during that period. Comer emphasized that this informant holds a distinguished status within the FBI, being highly paid, trusted, respected, and regarded as one of the most effective informants in the entire bureau, as he relayed to Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business on June 15.
To put it differently, the accusation was made by a credible source, highlighting the gravity of the claim. However, according to Comer, the FBI failed to take any action to investigate the matter. In a press release on June 28, Comer further stated that the FBI had been aware of allegations for years that Joe Biden had solicited and received a bribe during his time as Vice President. There is a lack of confidence that the FBI made any efforts to authenticate the allegations outlined in the document and raises concerns that they deliberately withheld it during the investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax evasion.
This is how investigators approach the situation: Is the bribery allegation true? It’s uncertain. It could be false, a misunderstanding, a politically motivated attack, or it could indeed be true. However, the only way to determine its veracity or falsehood is through an investigation. Without investigation, the truth will remain unknown.
For this reason, prominent lawmakers like Comer and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) are urging the FBI to disclose their actions regarding the investigation into the source’s claims. This has been the crucial question they have repeatedly posed to the FBI and Justice Department: Did you conduct an investigation? Unfortunately, both the FBI and Justice Department have refused to provide an answer.
Republicans, naturally, suspect that the FBI neglected to investigate and instead buried the allegation. Consequently, they are now concentrating on identifying individuals within the Justice Department who might have obstructed any potential investigation. In a recent letter addressed to David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware appointed by Trump who oversaw the Hunter Biden investigation, Grassley implies that Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf, a senior official in Weiss’s office, repeatedly took actions to impede the investigation into the financial dealings of Hunter Biden and Joe Biden.
But while the FBI excluded IRS investigators in looking at the FD-1023 form, it was happy to include nearly everybody else. “Potentially hundreds of Justice Department and FBI officials have had access to the FD-1023 at issue,” Grassley wrote, “which begs the question that I’ve been asking since the start of my oversight in this matter: what steps have the Justice Department and FBI taken to investigate the allegations? You, Attorney General Garland, and Director Wray have failed to answer.” That’s when Grassley turned to Wolf. “IRS whistleblowers have affirmed that AUSA Wolf prevented investigators from seeking information about Joe Biden’s involvement in Hunter Biden’s criminal business arrangements,” Grassley wrote. “AUSA Wolf frustrated investigative efforts to question [Hunter Biden associate] Rob Walker about Joe Biden; AUSA Wolf admitted that ‘more than enough probable cause’ had been achieved for a physical search warrant at Joe Biden’s guest house but prevented it from happening due to ‘optics’; AUSA Wolf prevented investigators from searching Hunter Biden’s storage unit; AUSA Wolf called Hunter Biden’s defense counsel informing him of the interest in the storage unit.” It does not take a rocket scientist to see that Grassley is sharply focused on Wolf. Now, he wants to know: “Did AUSA Wolf take similar proactive measures to frustrate any investigation into the FD-1023?” The senator wants to know if what he calls Wolf’s “alleged questionable and obstructive conduct during the course of [the Hunter Biden investigation]” includes her actions concerning the FD-1023. Grassley, in the GOP minority in the Senate, is fighting an uphill battle. Justice Department officials know the Democrats who control the Senate are not seriously going to investigate a Democratic president. Comer, with the Republican majority in the House, has more power. But the experience of both men shows that it is not easy to pursue the facts about a president when so many in law enforcement seemingly don’t want to know what happened.
In this letter, Grassley implied that the Justice Department deliberately excluded IRS investigators from crucial aspects of the Hunter Biden investigation, such as the examination of the FD-1023 form. Specifically, Grassley highlighted a meeting on October 23, 2020, where Wolf received a briefing on the FD-1023 bribery issue from FBI agents without any involvement from IRS agents. This exclusion was significant since the IRS plays a vital role in federal investigations related to financial crimes. Gary Shapley, a senior IRS official and one of two IRS whistleblowers in the Biden investigation, has accused the Justice Department of displaying favoritism.
While IRS investigators were excluded from the FD-1023 form examination, numerous Justice Department and FBI officials had access to it, potentially numbering in the hundreds, as Grassley pointed out. This raises the question that Grassley has been consistently asking: What steps have the Justice Department and FBI taken to investigate the allegations? Unfortunately, Attorney General Garland and Director Wray have failed to provide an answer.
This is where Grassley’s focus shifted to Wolf. According to Grassley, IRS whistleblowers have affirmed that Assistant U.S. Attorney Wolf impeded investigators from obtaining information about Joe Biden’s involvement in Hunter Biden’s illicit business arrangements. Grassley listed instances where Wolf frustrated investigative efforts, including preventing the questioning of Rob Walker about Joe Biden and admitting to blocking a physical search warrant at Joe Biden’s guest house due to “optics.” Wolf also prevented investigators from searching Hunter Biden’s storage unit and contacted Hunter Biden’s defense counsel to inform them of the interest in the storage unit.
Grassley’s emphasis on Wolf is evident, and he now seeks to ascertain if Wolf engaged in similar obstructive conduct regarding the investigation into the FD-1023. The senator wants to determine if Wolf’s alleged questionable and obstructive behavior during the Hunter Biden investigation extends to her actions concerning the FD-1023.
Grassley, as a member of the GOP minority in the Senate, faces an uphill battle. He understands that the Democrats, who hold the majority in the Senate, are unlikely to conduct a thorough investigation into a Democratic president. Comer, on the other hand, wields more power with the Republican majority in the House. However, the experiences of both individuals demonstrate the challenges involved in seeking the truth about a president when many within law enforcement seemingly lack the desire to uncover the facts.
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