House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) said Monday he would begin the process of bringing contempt of Congress charges against FBI Director Chris Wray over refusal to comply with a committee subpoena.
Comer made the announcement despite the FBI allowing him to review the subpoenaed document at bureau headquarters, and being briefed by FBI officials on its details, which allege that President Biden was involved in a criminal bribery scheme when he was Vice President.
Comer, along with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), has said those allegations against Biden demand further investigation.
Grassley last week had acknowledged to Fox News that he had “read that document” privately but was “not going to characterize it” before it was made public.
Grassley further admitted that Republicans like him “aren’t interested in whether or not the accusations against Biden are accurate or not,” but rather want to make sure the FBI complies with the subpoena.
On Monday Comer added that the FBI was still not in compliance with his committee until it hands over the physical document.
According to a letter the FBI sent to Grassley and Comer last month, the document contains “information from a confidential human source” which is “unverified and, by definition, incomplete.”
“The mere existence of such a document would establish little beyond the fact that a confidential human source provided information and the FBI recorded it,” wrote Christopher Dunham, acting assistant director for the FBI’s Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs.
He added that reviewing the document “out of context” and without national security protections would “undermine” the FBI’s interest in protecting confidential sources.
Contempt of Congress charges, if filed, may potentially not go any farther than Capitol Hill as it’s up to the Department of Justice—in which Wray is a principal—to prosecute or not.
For example, the DOJ declined to prosecute former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows despite having been charged with contempt of Congress by the House Select January 6 Committee last year.
