WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 The chairman of the House Oversight Committee said Tuesday he is moving forward with holding FBI Director Chris Wray in contempt of Congress because the department has not turned over a bureau record that purports to relate to President Joe Biden and his family.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., criticized the federal law enforcement agency after he said his committee was told it would not gain access to an unclassified form that describes 鈥渁n alleged criminal scheme鈥 involving the president and a foreign national.
鈥淭he FBI's decision to stiff-arm Congress and hide this information from the American people is obstructionist and unacceptable,鈥 Comer said in a statement.
In response, the FBI said in a statement that it remains committed to cooperating with lawmakers in 鈥済ood faith,鈥 and that 鈥渁ny discussion of escalation under these circumstances is unnecessary."
The FBI said it offered to give the Oversight committee 鈥渁ccess to information responsive to the Committee鈥檚 subpoena in a format and setting that maintains confidentiality and protects important security interests and the integrity of FBI investigations.鈥
The bureau called that offer 鈥渁n extraordinary accommodation."
Comer and Wray are scheduled to speak by phone on Wednesday amid the standoff.
Calls to move forward with contempt were elevated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier Tuesday, who told Fox News that he had personally called Wray to urge the release of the document to Congress.
鈥淚f he does not act, he鈥檚 not above the law. He鈥檚 not above Congress. And we will hold him in contempt. Now I want to be very clear about that,鈥 McCarthy said.
Comer subpoenaed Wray earlier this month seeking a specific FBI form from June 2020 that is a report of conversations or interactions with a confidential source. These reports are routine, contain uncorroborated and unvetted information and do not on their own establish any wrongdoing.
In a May 3 letter to Wray with Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Comer said that 鈥渋t has come to our attention鈥 that the bureau has such a document that 鈥渄escribes an alleged criminal scheme鈥 involving Biden and a foreign national 鈥渞elating to the exchange of money for policy decisions鈥 when Biden was vice president and includes 鈥渁 precise description鈥 about it.
Comer and Grassley said those 鈥渄isclosures鈥 demand further investigation, and they want to know whether the FBI investigated and, if so, what agents found.
The subpoena seeks all so-called FD-1023 forms and accompanying attachments and documents.
Democrats on the Oversight committee called Comer鈥檚 narrative of the FBI obstructing 鈥渁 radical distortion of the situation.鈥 And they accused the chairman of stonewalling them from the call with Wray on Wednesday.
鈥淭his subpoenaed document, by definition, reveals nothing more than an unverified and unsubstantiated tip made to Donald Trump鈥檚 Justice Department, which presumably led to no evidence of criminal wrongdoing,鈥 Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement late Tuesday.
The lawmakers used the word 鈥渁lleged鈥 three times in the opening paragraph of the letter and offered no evidence of the veracity of the accusations or any details about what they contend are 鈥渉ighly credible unclassified whistleblower disclosures.鈥
The White House has called the subpoena effort further evidence of how congressional Republicans long 鈥渉ave been lobbing unfounded, unproven, politically motivated attacks鈥 against the Biden family 鈥渨ithout offering evidence for their claims or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. interests.鈥
A contempt of Congress charge would require a full committee vote before going to the House floor.
If the House were to approve a contempt resolution against Wray, the decision about whether to prosecute him would fall to prosecutors in the Justice Department, where Wray works.
___
Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
