According to CBS News, various Justice Department officials have served as whistleblowers in Senator Chuck Grassley’s investigation of the Biden family.
“The sources told CBS News the whistleblower disclosures raised concerns about the Hunter Biden investigation, with allegations including “irregular handling “ of evidence and a claim that “standard investigatory procedures were not being followed,” allegedly hindering the probe’s progress,” CBS News reported.
Additionally, the whistleblowers are claiming that unflattering Hunter Biden evidence was improperly deemed as disinformation, even in instances where the evidence had been verified as authentic. In certain instances, the improperly labeled disinformation was compartmentalized within highly restricted systems to prevent other FBI investigators from accessing the evidence.
The FBI did not comment on the disclosures. A spokesman for Senator Grassley commented, however, saying that Grassley has a “long history of protecting whistleblowers…regardless of political ideology” and that the Biden family investigation “continues to turn up new information.”
What is an FD-1023?
Some of the new Hunter Biden-related disclosures come from an internal FBI form, the FD-1023. Now Grassley, along with House Oversight Committee Chairman, Representative James Comer, are pursuing the FD-1023. Grassley and Comer, in a letter to FBI Director Chris Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, asked about the FD-1023. According to Grassley and Comer, the FD-1023 describes “an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.”
A subpoena was issued for the FBI form. In response to the subpoena, Christopher Dunham, the acting assistant director for the FBI Office of Congressional Affairs, explained that the FD-1023 is a “form used to record unverified reporting from a confidential human source and that “the FBI regularly receives information from sources with significant potential biases, motivations, and knowledge, including drug traffickers, members of organized crime, or even terrorists.”
“It is critical to the integrity of the entire criminal justice process and to the fulfillment of our law enforcement duties that FBI avoid revealing information – including unverified or incomplete information – that could harm investigations,” Dunham wrote. “Thus, your request for a single FD-1023 report that you say includes a ‘precise description’ of an ‘alleged criminal scheme’ risks the harms that our confidentiality rules protect against.”
The White House responds
The White House, predictably, is not pleased with the allegations being made. Ian Sams, the White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, responded to the GOP letter. “For going on five years now, Republicans in Congress have been lobbing unfounded,, unproven, politically-motivated attacks against the President and his family without offering evidence for their claims or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than US interests.” Sams continued, “When it comes to President Biden’s personal finances, anybody can take a look: he has offered an unprecedented level of transparency, releasing a total of 25 years of tax returns to the American public.”
So far, the White House has been somewhat justified in their indignation. The ongoing investigation into the Biden family, and especially into Hunter Biden, has failed to turn up anything that connects President Biden to wrongdoing. That’s not to say that there is no such connection. But to date, the investigation has had the tone and vocabulary of desperation. Stay tuned, however, the likelihood that Comer and Co. will suspend their search is roughly zero.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
FROM 19FortyFive: The End of Donald Trump Has Arrived
FROM 19FortyFive: The Hunter Biden Scandal Just Exploded
FROM 19FortyFive: Something Is Majorly Wrong with Joe Biden
