The White House on Thursday imprisoned Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa for saying he did not know if the sensational allegations he had made about the president allegedly involved in a “criminal scheme” with a foreigner were accurate.
Grassley, 89, came forward Wednesday with House Oversight Committee chairman Representative James Comer to advance claims from a whistleblower they described as a bribery scheme from the time Biden served as vice president.
“We believe the FBI possesses an unclassified internal document containing very serious and detailed allegations pertaining to the current president of the United States,” Grassley said, as Comer subpoenaed the information.
But when description of the effort in an interview on the conservative Newsmax outlet, Grassley also admitted that he couldn’t vouch for its accuracy without seeing the information.
The clip shows Grassley being interviewed by host Greta Van Susteren.
“I wish I could say I knew it was true or false,” Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) told Newsmax in an interview as he spoke of the effort to demand information from the FBI that was alleged by a whistleblower. was flagged over an alleged bribery scheme while Joe Biden was vice president
“The letter is exciting because it is about exchanging money for policy decisions. It is a very serious accusation against the then vice president,” the presenter told Grassley, who called for the interview.
“It’s a very serious accusation. I wish I could say I knew it was true or false,” Grassley replied.
‘Wow. Says it all,” wrote Ian Sams, White House spokesman for surveillance and investigations, adding his comments to the clip.
The pushback comes a day after Grassley, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and longtime advocate for whistleblower protection, and Comer wrote AG Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray about what the whistleblower told them.
That letter also did not address the truth of the allegations, only that the whistleblower was “credible” and that the revelations were “legally protected.”
The White House flagged a statement from Senator Charles Grassley in an interview after Representative James Comer issued a subpoena over what Comer called an alleged “bribery scheme” involving President Biden
Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed FBI Director Chris Wray for the information
The GOP subpoena is the latest escalation in the Republican ‘influence peddling’ investigation into the Biden family and Hunter’s overseas business deals
Senator Chuck Grassley and Rep. James Comer issued a subpoena to FBI Director Chris Wray on Wednesday demanding the ‘FD-1023 form’
They wanted to know “what steps have been taken to establish the ‘truth and accuracy’ of the information by the FBI.
Grassley also did not speak directly about the truth of the allegations in his statement Wednesday demanding to see the information.
“We believe the FBI possesses an unclassified internal document containing very serious and detailed allegations pertaining to the current President of the United States. What we don’t know is what the FBI has done to verify or further investigate these claims. The FBI’s recent history of bungling politically charged investigations requires close congressional scrutiny,” he said.
Comer, who has the power to summon as chairman, demanded the document and all accompanying attachments. House Republicans set up an “arms committee” after taking over the House to investigate alleged FBI misconduct.
Comer went further in his own statement, though he also held back, saying the information raised “concerns” and speaking only of “alleged” bribery.
“The information provided by a whistleblower raises concerns that then-Vice President Biden may have engaged in a bribery scheme involving a foreigner,” Comer said.
Grassley and Comer demanded an unclassified FD-1023 document detailing the “alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreigner related to the exchange of money for policy decisions.”
Such forms represent information the FBI could obtain from sources that are not necessarily firmly established.
Still, the move is likely to spark a pitched battle over the documents — with lawmakers, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), already calling for Biden’s impeachment.
Wray’s subpoena contains language that says the information “will inform potential legislative solutions that the committee is investigating” — language intended to establish a legislative purpose that is part of Congress’s duties that may be important if there is a stalemate and the case ends in court.
R-Texas Senator Ted Cruz brought up the impeachment idea on Fox News Wednesday night. “It doesn’t have to be a high crime and misdemeanor,” he said, pointing out that impeachment for bribery is “explicit in the Constitution.”
“The evidence that Joe Biden is complicit in and profiting from this corruption is growing and growing,” he claimed.
Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, leading Democrat on the Oversight Committee, accused Republicans of “recycling baseless claims” that could have come from Rudy Giuliani or Russian agents trying to influence the 2020 election.
“During the same period, Rudy Giuliani and Russian agents sanctioned by Trump’s Treasury Department spread disinformation to disrupt the 2020 presidential election,” Raskin said.
“Given Chairman Comer’s commitment to ‘dismantle’ the FBI, it comes as no surprise that he would rely on these unverified tips to target President Biden in yet another baseless partisan stunt.”