White House Lashes out over Effort to Hold FBI Director in Contempt of Congress

White House spokesman Ian Sams lashed out against House Republicans who plan to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress for refusing to divulge an unclassified, subpoenaed document that allegedly details an arrangement involving an exchange of money for policy decisions between now-President Joe Biden and a foreign national.

After Wednesday’s meeting between Wray and House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY), in which the bureau chief confirmed the file’s existence, Comer doubled down on his threat to hold Wray in contempt of Congress — which the White House called a “silly charade” and a “political stunt.”

“This silly charade by @JamesComer is yet another reminder that his so-called ‘investigations’ are political stunts not meant to uncover facts but to spread thin innuendo to attack the President and get himself media attention and the Fox News spotlight,” Sams posted on Twitter shortly after the meeting.

This silly charade by @JamesComer is yet another reminder that his so-called “investigations” are political stunts not meant to uncover facts but to spread thin innuendo to attack the President and get himself media attention and the Fox News spotlight. https://t.co/0rJ9Nbwkkc

— Ian Sams (@IanSams46) May 31, 2023

During Comer’s meeting with Wray, the FBI confirmed the existence of the subpoenaed informant file the bureau refuses to provide Congress that allegedly links President Joe Biden to a $5 million bribery scheme, Comer said. The Justice Department previously did not deny the document’s existence upon Comer’s subpoena.

Comer said in a statement:

While Director Wray – after a month of refusing to even acknowledge that the form existed – has offered to allow us to see the documents in person at FBI headquarters, we have been clear that anything short of producing these documents to the House Oversight Committee is not in compliance with the subpoena. If the FBI fails to hand over the FD-1023 form as required by the subpoena, the House Oversight Committee will begin contempt of Congress proceedings.

After releasing the statement, Comer told Fox News that he and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) already inspected the document he subpoenaed and will go to the FBI headquarters and review it again.

“We will go there and look at the redacted document. But we know what is in the document,” he said.

“Despite these extraordinary accommodations—and the fact that Republicans have claimed to have access to the very information subpoenaed—Chairman Comer has continued to insist he will hold the FBI Director in contempt,” Raskin told reporters.

The Democrats’ angst about the FBI potentially being held in contempt comes as Comer’s probe into the Biden family uncovered damning information. The probe uncovered that the Biden family business, over the course of several years, received at least $10 million from business schemes in Romania and China in return for what appears to be influence peddling. In addition, nine Biden family members received payments from the family foreign business ventures, including two of Joe Biden’s grandchildren, Comer revealed.

Watch — Schiff: Rep. Comer’s Investigation into Biden a “Fiasco” Full of “Unsubstantiated Allegations”

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.