Give it up Chuck, you're only embarrassing yourself:
Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is seeking information from the Department of Justice and FBI about whether they properly vetted what he says were dozens of people who provided federal investigators with confidential, criminal information related to the foreign business dealings of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and other family members.
The allegations were outlined in a letter published Wednesday from Grassley to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray.
Citing anonymous whistleblower disclosures, Grassley said he had been made aware that the FBI had at one point maintained more than 40 confidential “human sources,” who had criminal information about President Biden, his son Hunter, and James Biden, the president’s brother.
⧉ Related article: Iowa’s Chuck Grassley releases FBI record alleging Biden bribery scheme
"An essential question that must be answered is this: Did the FBI investigate the information or shut it down? Indeed, if those sources were improperly shut down, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for the FBI," Grassley wrote.
The FBI confirmed it had received Grassley's letter but said it had no other comment. The Department of Justice and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Grassley’s request comes as House Republicans pursue an impeachment inquiry into President Biden over allegations he abused his authority when he was vice president to personally profit off his family's many foreign business dealings.
Part of the House GOP inquiry involves examining how the DOJ handled its own parallel investigation into Hunter Biden after whistleblowers alleged the investigation had been slow-walked by department officials to protect the Bidens.
Grassley, in the letter, accuses the department of stonewalling him on the issue since 2019, before Biden took office in 2021. He wrote the “investigative activity was scuttled by the FBI in 2020,” while former President Donald Trump was in office, and asserts that “such decisions point to significant political bias.”
The allegations against the Biden family were investigated by the Department of Justice under Trump-appointed Republican Attorney General William Barr as part of an investigation into allegations of bribery brought by Trump’s then-personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
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The Justice Department found no supporting evidence of the allegations and closed the investigation in August 2020, according to a statement from Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee.
Barr denies closing the investigation, and told The Federalist this summer the information was ultimately forwarded to the U.S. attorney in Delaware.
Republicans have questioned whether the federal prosecutor there followed up on the allegations.
An FD-1023 form used by the FBI to log unverified accounts from confidential human sources states the source “is not able to provide” information “as to the veracity” of assertions related to any alleged bribery.
Grassley, in his letter, asserts certain FBI personnel allegedly attempted "to sweep (the form) under the rug" in part by falsely attributing it to foreign disinformation.
Barr in early 2020 issued new rules and restrictions for opening investigations into politically sensitive individuals or entities, including requiring regular updates and that he approve any inquiry into a presidential candidate or campaign.
Barr's memo followed a critical report from the Justice Department's inspector general on aspects of the FBI's Russia investigation, which began in the summer of 2016 during the presidential campaign.
Barr also was explicit about his concerns around how foreign disinformation might impact investigations, stating no information coming out of Ukraine could be taken “at face value,” given the amount of politically driven disinformation that could emerge from that country.
Ex-FBI agent Timothy Thibault, who Grassley asserts was ordered to close “an avenue of additional derogatory Hunter Biden reporting” in October 2020, testified that the confidential source who was temporarily shut down was conservative author and activist Peter Schweizer, who is a senior contributor for far-right media organization Breitbart News, and not considered an unbiased source.
Schweizer, president of the conservative-backed Government Accountability Institute, identified himself as the source in a podcast.
Grassley said he will seek interviews from at least 25 DOJ and FBI personnel involved in the efforts to investigate the Biden family.
“Based on the information provided to my office over a period of years by multiple credible whistleblowers, there appears to be an effort within the Justice Department and FBI to shut down investigative activity relating to the Biden family,” Grassley wrote in the letter. “Such decisions point to significant political bias infecting the decision-making of not only the Attorney General and FBI Director, but also line agents and prosecutors. Our Republic cannot survive such a political infection, and you have an obligation to this country to clear the air.”
www.thegazette.com
Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is seeking information from the Department of Justice and FBI about whether they properly vetted what he says were dozens of people who provided federal investigators with confidential, criminal information related to the foreign business dealings of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and other family members.
The allegations were outlined in a letter published Wednesday from Grassley to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray.
Citing anonymous whistleblower disclosures, Grassley said he had been made aware that the FBI had at one point maintained more than 40 confidential “human sources,” who had criminal information about President Biden, his son Hunter, and James Biden, the president’s brother.
⧉ Related article: Iowa’s Chuck Grassley releases FBI record alleging Biden bribery scheme
"An essential question that must be answered is this: Did the FBI investigate the information or shut it down? Indeed, if those sources were improperly shut down, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for the FBI," Grassley wrote.
The FBI confirmed it had received Grassley's letter but said it had no other comment. The Department of Justice and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Grassley’s request comes as House Republicans pursue an impeachment inquiry into President Biden over allegations he abused his authority when he was vice president to personally profit off his family's many foreign business dealings.
Part of the House GOP inquiry involves examining how the DOJ handled its own parallel investigation into Hunter Biden after whistleblowers alleged the investigation had been slow-walked by department officials to protect the Bidens.
Grassley, in the letter, accuses the department of stonewalling him on the issue since 2019, before Biden took office in 2021. He wrote the “investigative activity was scuttled by the FBI in 2020,” while former President Donald Trump was in office, and asserts that “such decisions point to significant political bias.”
The allegations against the Biden family were investigated by the Department of Justice under Trump-appointed Republican Attorney General William Barr as part of an investigation into allegations of bribery brought by Trump’s then-personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
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The Justice Department found no supporting evidence of the allegations and closed the investigation in August 2020, according to a statement from Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee.
Barr denies closing the investigation, and told The Federalist this summer the information was ultimately forwarded to the U.S. attorney in Delaware.
Republicans have questioned whether the federal prosecutor there followed up on the allegations.
An FD-1023 form used by the FBI to log unverified accounts from confidential human sources states the source “is not able to provide” information “as to the veracity” of assertions related to any alleged bribery.
Grassley, in his letter, asserts certain FBI personnel allegedly attempted "to sweep (the form) under the rug" in part by falsely attributing it to foreign disinformation.
Barr in early 2020 issued new rules and restrictions for opening investigations into politically sensitive individuals or entities, including requiring regular updates and that he approve any inquiry into a presidential candidate or campaign.
Barr's memo followed a critical report from the Justice Department's inspector general on aspects of the FBI's Russia investigation, which began in the summer of 2016 during the presidential campaign.
Barr also was explicit about his concerns around how foreign disinformation might impact investigations, stating no information coming out of Ukraine could be taken “at face value,” given the amount of politically driven disinformation that could emerge from that country.
Ex-FBI agent Timothy Thibault, who Grassley asserts was ordered to close “an avenue of additional derogatory Hunter Biden reporting” in October 2020, testified that the confidential source who was temporarily shut down was conservative author and activist Peter Schweizer, who is a senior contributor for far-right media organization Breitbart News, and not considered an unbiased source.
Schweizer, president of the conservative-backed Government Accountability Institute, identified himself as the source in a podcast.
Grassley said he will seek interviews from at least 25 DOJ and FBI personnel involved in the efforts to investigate the Biden family.
“Based on the information provided to my office over a period of years by multiple credible whistleblowers, there appears to be an effort within the Justice Department and FBI to shut down investigative activity relating to the Biden family,” Grassley wrote in the letter. “Such decisions point to significant political bias infecting the decision-making of not only the Attorney General and FBI Director, but also line agents and prosecutors. Our Republic cannot survive such a political infection, and you have an obligation to this country to clear the air.”
Iowa’s Grassley says 40 sources gave FBI criminal information about Biden family
Senator sends letter to Justice, FBI seeking records
www.thegazette.com
