Comer accuses Raskin of lying about origin of Biden bribery allegation

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Friday accused Rep. Jamie Raskin of lying about the origin of allegations that President Biden accepted a $5 million bribe from a Ukrainian energy company executive as vice president. 

Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member on the committee, claims that the allegations made by a Burisma executive in an FBI FD-1023 form – which were relayed to the FBI by confidential human informant –  were initially brought to the bureau by former President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and that the 80-year-old president is not currently under investigation for bribery.  

“It doesn’t matter how many times Ranking Member Raskin repeats the lie, it’s still a lie,”  Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement on Friday about Raskin’s claims.

“The information contained in the FBI’s FD-1023 form did not originate with Rudy Giuliani, and as Former Attorney General William Barr has confirmed publicly, the FD-1023 was not closed but rather forwarded to the U.S. Attorney in Delaware for further investigation. In addition, Director Wray himself told Senator Grassley and me directly that the FD-1023 form was related to an ongoing investigation,” the Oversight Committee chairman added. 

Raskin penned a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Friday calling on the bureau to provide the full oversight panel with the same briefing the agency gave him and Comer on June 5 about the informant file, arguing that the briefing would provide lawmakers with “crucial context” about the bribery allegations. 

“The [confidential human informant] noted that it is not unusual for Ukrainian business executives to brag and show-off and that he could not offer any opinion as to the veracity of the allegations he was relaying,” Raskin wrote in the letter.

The Maryland Democrat explained that the FBI “clearly and repeatedly shared” that in January 2020, then-Attorney General William Barr chose US Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Scott Brady to review allegations made by Giuliani about a corruption scheme involving Biden. 

Raskin adds that Brady led a team of prosecutors and FBI agents in investigating the allegations and that they sought out the informant because he had provided information on Burisma to the FBI in the past. 

“Much of the information that the CHS provided had previously been provided to Mr. Brady and his team by Mr. Giuliani,” Raskin claims the FBI explained during the June 5 briefing.

“After eight months, Mr. Brady’s assessment was closed in August 2020 with no outstanding investigative steps or tasks remaining. The FBI explained that the assessment was closed because Mr. Brady’s team found insufficient evidence to warrant escalating their probe of Mr. Giuliani’s allegations,” he adds.  

“At no point during the briefing did the FBI state or suggest in any way that ‘Joe Biden is currently under investigation for bribery,’” Raskin asserts in the letter. 

“It is deeply concerning that recent public statements are plainly inconsistent with statements made by the FBI in the June 5, 2023, briefing,” the ranking member added.

As Comer explained in his statement, Barr told The Federalist last week that the alleged FBI probe into Biden was never closed.

“It’s not true. It wasn’t closed down,” Barr said. “On the contrary, it was sent to Delaware for further investigation.”

Comer added in his Friday statement that he will not be deterred by “Democrats’ lies” from continuing his investigation into the Biden bribery allegations.  

“The Biden bribery record contains serious allegations and the American people deserve answers, transparency, and accountability. The Oversight Committee will continue to follow the facts and ensure accountability for the American people. Democrats’ lies and deterrents will not distract us from this goal,” he said.