The FBI is scheduled to bring an internal law enforcement document that some Republicans claim will shed light on an allegation that then-Vice President Joe Biden was involved in a criminal scheme with a foreign national to Capitol Hill on Monday for House Oversight Chair James Comer and ranking Democratic member Rep. Jamie Raskin to review, spokespeople for the two lawmakers told CNN.
While the document contains the allegations made by an unnamed whistleblower, it doesn't provide proof that they are true, people briefed on the matter said. The FBI and prosecutors who previously reviewed the information couldn't corroborate the claims.
The top two members will receive a briefing from the FBI and review the FD-1023 form behind closed doors in a secure SCIF, a sensitive compartmented information facility at the Capitol rather than going to FBI headquarters, as the bureau had initially offered.
Comer subpoenaed FBI Director Christopher Wray for the document last month, and has since said he plans to begin proceedings to hold Wray in contempt of Congress for failing to turn it over to the panel.
Despite the FBI's accommodation, Comer plans to move with forward with the contempt process, arguing it is not enough to satisfy the terms of his subpoena.
"Chairman Comer has been clear that anything short of producing the FD-1023 form to the House Oversight Committee is not compliance with his subpoena. This unclassified record contains pages of details that need to be investigated further by the House Oversight Committee," Comer spokesperson Jessica Collins said.
The Monday briefing, first reported by Fox News, comes just days after Comer and Raskin separately spoke by phone with Wray regarding the unverified allegations made by an unnamed whistleblower.
CNN previously reported that the form in question has origins in a tranche of documents that Rudy Giuliani provided to the Justice Department in 2020, people briefed on the matter said.
The allegations of wrongdoing by the then-vice president, many originating from sources in Ukraine, were dubious enough that former Attorney General William Barr in early 2020 directed they be investigated by a US attorney in Pittsburgh, in part because Barr was concerned that Giuliani's document tranche could taint the ongoing Hunter Biden investigation overseen by the Delaware US attorney.
The 1023 document being demanded by Comer is among the products of that investigation.
A spokesperson for Raskin confirmed the Maryland Democrat will attend the briefing.
"Ranking Member Raskin has accepted the FBI's invitation to review the subpoenaed document on Monday alongside Chairman Comer," they said. "The Ranking Member appreciates the agency's efforts to accommodate the committee and the opportunity to review and be briefed on the Trump Justice Department's follow up on the unsubstantiated tip sheet after weeks of Chairman Comer's partisan spin."
Raskin has also expressed concern over the idea of the FBI or other law enforcement entities being forced to turn over records or tips made by confidential informants.
"There will be no confidential informants if any politician can just subpoena them and then open them up to the public," he told CNN earlier this week.
White House spokesperson Ian Sams previously dismissed Comer's investigations, telling CNN in a statement that they are a "silly charade" and "political stunts" to "spread thin innuendo and falsehoods to attack the president."
The FBI uses FD-1023 forms to memorialize information gathered from confidential sources. It typically includes allegations from a source that have not been verified by the FBI. According to Comer, the one in question, dated June 30, 2020, says the foreign national allegedly paid $5 million to receive a desired policy outcome, based on unclassified and legally protected whistleblower disclosures.
An FBI spokesperson said that by producing the document with "limited redactions," it hoped to provide Congress with "all of the information it originally asked for and more."
"The common sense protections the FBI has requested to maintain the confidentiality of that sensitive information are routinely employed both in response to congressional requests and in court in criminal proceedings to protect the physical safety of sources and the integrity of investigations," the spokesperson said.
