Posted on 05/31/2023 6:21:07 AM PDT by Red Badger
House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced Tuesday he will move forward with holding FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress.
The top GOP lawmaker announced in an afternoon statement that the bureau failed to comply with his subpoena requesting documentation believed to contain allegations of a criminal “bribery” scheme involving President Joe Biden.
“Today, the FBI informed the Committee that it will not provide the unclassified documents subpoenaed by the Committee,” Comer said. “The FBI’s decision to stiff-arm Congress and hide this information from the American people is obstructionist and unacceptable.”
Though Comer noted that he has a call with Wray scheduled for Wednesday, the chairman stressed the House Oversight Committee “has been clear in its intent to protect Congressional oversight authorities and will now be taking steps to hold the FBI Director in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a lawful subpoena.”
The chairman said whistleblower disclosures led him and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to believe the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI have an unclassified FD-1023 form describing the alleged scheme involving Biden, dating back to his time as vice president, and a foreign national. Comer initially sent the subpoena on May 3 with a May 10 deadline, but later extended it to Tuesday.
This particular FD-1023 form may reference some variant of “five million” and “June 30, 2020,” Comer wrote in a letter to Wray last week. “These terms relate to the date on the FD-1023 form and its reference to the amount of money the foreign national allegedly paid to receive the desired policy outcome,” he added.
The FBI responded to Comer in a letter, which was published by POLITICO, saying in part that officials at the bureau have “identified additional information that we are prepared to offer the Committee as an extraordinary accommodation.”
Wray “looks forward to discussing how we plan to make that information available to the Committee during your call tomorrow,” said acting Assistant Director for Congressional Affairs Christopher Dunham.
The FBI additionally provided a statement to The Daily Wire responding to Comer’s statement.
“The FBI remains committed to cooperating with the Committee in good faith. In a letter to Chairman Comer earlier today, the FBI committed to providing access to information responsive to the Committee’s subpoena in a format and setting that maintains confidentiality and protects important security interests and the integrity of FBI investigations,” the FBI said.
“Last week, Director Wray scheduled a telephone call for tomorrow to provide additional details of the FBI’s extraordinary accommodation to satisfy the subpoena request,” the FBI added. “Any discussion of escalation under these circumstances is unnecessary.”
Although Comer has not publicly identified a country linked to the matter, the date he divulged lands on the calendar about two weeks after Ukrainian officials announced there had been a $5 million bribe aimed at ending an investigation into the founder of Burisma Holdings, the same Ukrainian gas company at which Biden’s son, Hunter, served on the board for several years.
As congressional Republicans have raised concerns about members of the Biden family being involved in influence peddling schemes linked to countries around the world, Democrats have accused their GOP counterparts of ignoring alleged misconduct by former President Donald Trump while trying to dig up “dirt” on the Bidens.
The White House has also shot back at Republicans in Congress. “House Republicans have shown no evidence of any policy decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. national interests,” tweeted White House spokesperson Ian Sams earlier this month. “That’s because they can’t.”
The FBI says FD-1023 forms are filled out to record claims from confidential human sources. Even after McCarthy spoke over the phone with Wray earlier this month, lawmakers said the bureau resisted acknowledging the particular file they seek even exists. Publicly, the bureau has generally cautioned against disclosing unverified information from informants.
“The FBI remains committed to cooperating with Congress’s oversight requests on this matter and others as we always have, and we continue to be in touch with members of Congress regarding this request,” the FBI told The Daily Wire on Tuesday. “The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people. Releasing confidential source information could potentially jeopardize investigations and put lives at risk.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) addressed confidentiality issues in a separate interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. “If there’s a concern about methods or areas of how we get it, redact names so we don’t see that. But you’ve got to show the document,” he said.
McCarthy also made it clear on Tuesday that he has Comer’s back in demanding the document and holding Wray in contempt. “Today is the deadline for him to act,” the speaker said.” If he does not act, he’s not above the law. He’s not above Congress. And we will hold him in contempt. Now I want to be very clear about that.”
If the House, which is narrowly controlled by Republicans, were to approve a criminal contempt referral to the DOJ, Wray could face a fine and up to a year’s imprisonment if federal prosecutors take up the case. There are also other forms of recourse, including civil enforcement, according to the American Bar Association. As Republicans become increasingly wary of the FBI, with suspicions fueled by the recently released report by special counsel John Durham, some lawmakers are also talking about defunding the agency.
“Americans deserve the truth, and the Oversight Committee will continue to demand transparency from this nation’s chief law enforcement agency,” Comer said in his statement on Tuesday.
I can do w/o the song and dance, just do it for cryin out loud.
Wray should be charged with giving aid and comfort to the domestic and foreign enemies of the United States.
FBI/CIA/NSA to Congress...
Go Ahead, Make my day...Try something. We own YOU! WE Run Things.
This is a “nothing burger”. Congress holding Wray in Contempt does nothing...unless the DOJ then prosecutes. And they won’t.
Remember when Congress held Eric Holder in contempt? What then happened? Nothing...because the DOJ did not prosecute.
Expecting Merrick Garland to prosecute Chris Wray? You’ll have better luck believing in the tooth fairy.
About time!
Well la-de-f***ing-da. And this will accomplish what, exactly? Oh, that's right, absolutely nothing.
What about accountability? Without that Wray could care less about being held in contempt.
Comer is doing what he can. this sends a signal to the honest rank and file that they are heard - and that lawlessness is called out.
There won’t be prosecution but there could be budgetary consequences if the R’s wanted to do it.
They won’t.
BUT -—it is OK for a dawn raid at Mar A Lago & searching thru Melania’s underwear for “classified documents”.
Don’t talk. Do!
The Contempt charge is a toothless tiger. I would withhold his salary at the very least and would put him in jail today if I could. Indeed, I would stitch “FBI Director” on his prison uniform and then toss him in with the “lifers” at a maximum security prison. Let’s see how long he can withhold information before he gets beat to a pulp.
He wouldn’t get beat up.
Criminals have respect for someone who will not talk..................
Okay. Change the stitching to read: “Child Molester”
McCarthy also made it clear on Tuesday that he has Comer’s back in demanding the document and holding Wray in contempt. “Today is the deadline for him to act,” the speaker said.” If he does not act, he’s not above the law. He’s not above Congress. And we will hold him in contempt. Now I want to be very clear about that.”
Yeah, anyone want to make a bet?
Congress has ALL the power in washington, the executive and judicial branch operate according to the whims of CONGRESS!
“U.S. CODE
TITLE 2—THE CONGRESS
CHAPTER 6—CONGRESSIONAL AND COMMITTEE PROCEDURE; INVESTIGATIONS
Sec. 193. Privilege of witnesses
No witness is privileged to refuse to testify to any fact, or to produce any paper, respecting which he shall be examined by either House of Congress, or by any joint committee established by a joint or concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress, or by any committee of either House, upon the ground that his testimony to such fact or his production of such paper may tend to disgrace him or otherwise render him infamous.”
Simply look up Hinds Precedents, especially chapters 53 and 51, and Cannon’s Precedents, especially chapters 184-185. You’ll find numerous detailed cases of Congress asserting its power, arresting people, holding them until they agreed to answer questions, and then releasing them. Some of these people did not refuse to appear, but simply failed to satisfactorily answer questions.
Congress has the authority to arrest and imprison those found in Contempt. The power extends throughout the United States and is an inherent power (does not depend upon legislated act)
If found in Contempt the person can be arrested under a warrant of the Speaker of the House of Representatives or President of the Senate, by the respective Sergeant at Arms.
Statutory criminal contempt is an alternative to inherent contempt.
Under the inherent contempt power Congress may imprison a person for a specific period of time or an indefinite period of time, except a person imprisoned by the House of Representatives may not be imprisoned beyond adjournment of a session of Congress.
Imprisonment may be coercive or punitive.
Some references
[1] Joseph Story’s Commentaries on the Constitution, Volume 2, § 842 http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/print_documents/a1_5s21.html
[2] Anderson v. Dunn - 19 U.S. 204 - “And, as to the distance to which the process might reach, it is very clear that there exists no reason for confining its operation to the limits of the District of Columbia; after passing those limits, we know no bounds that can be prescribed to its range but those of the United States.” http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/19/204/case.html
[3] Jurney v. MacCracken, 294 U.S. 125 http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/294/125/case.html 73rd Cong., 78 Cong. Rec. 2410 (1934) https://archive.org/details/congressionalrec78aunit
[4] McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135 - Under a warrant issued by the President of the Senate the Deputy to the Senate Sergeant at Arms arrested at Cincinnati, Ohio, Mally S. Daugherty, who had been twice subpoenaed by the Senate and twice failed to appear. http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/273/135/case.html
[5] Rules of the House of Representatives, Rule IV Duties of the Sergeant at Arms - [] execute the commands of the House, and all processes issued by authority thereof, directed to him by the Speaker. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/HMAN-105/pdf/HMAN-105-pg348.pdf
[6] An analysis of Congressional inquiry, subpoena, and enforcement http://www.constitutionproject.org/documents/when-congress-comes-calling-a-primer-on-the-principles-practices-and-pragmatics-of-legislative-inquiry/
In 1857, a New York Times reporter refused to say which members of Congress had asked him to get them bribes (protecting his “sources” just as various Judith Millers today protect the people who feed them proven lies that costs thousands of lives), so Congress locked him up until he answered and then banned him from Congress.
In 1924 an oil executive appeared but refused to answer certain questions, so the Senate held — literally held — him in contempt. Senator Thomas Walsh of Montana argued that this question of contempt was of the gravest importance, and that it involved “the very life of the effective existence of the House of Representatives of the United States and of the Senate of the United States.” The matter was taken to court, and the witness fined and imprisoned.
“Comer is doing what he can. this sends a signal to the honest rank and file that they are heard - and that lawlessness is called out.”
What he is also doing is demonstrating to the rank and file that the agency can be turned into an American Stasi with impunity and that the lawless top thugs are untouchable.
Real action would be gutting the FBI budget in the next fiscal year, but the Glorious Debt Ceiling Deal guarantees this Congress will not ever see a budget, much less vote on one. Another great victory for the Red Squad.
They cited Eric Holder for Contempt of Congress, too.
He continued to occupy his office, doing whatever he wanted, unhindered and with full funding for the remainder of 0bama’s term.
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