The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee thinks it’s time for Republicans to put up (some evidence) or shut up (about Burisma). And now he is recruiting the help of FBI Director Christopher Wray.
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There is a popular trope in movies and TV shows involving socially awkward boys who claim that they have a “hot girlfriend in Canada.” That’s very similar to Republicans who swear that they totally have super-secret evidence that conclusively proves that President Joe Biden is corrupt.
And just as the boys in the movies can produce a “photo” of that girlfriend, often a cutout from a magazine, Republicans point to Form FD-1023.
According to the “Society of Former Special Agents,” that is the form the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) used to “record raw, unverified reporting from confidential human sources (CHSs).”
According to Republicans, it is not merely a smoking gun but rather a volcano of incrimination. However, they can’t actually show it to people because the FBI doesn’t want to release Form FD-1023 to the public to protect that source.
Therefore, conveniently, Form FD-1023 is whatever Republicans want it to be.
And they want it to be a lot of different things.
Above all, to them it is definitive proof of Biden accepting millions of dollars from a Ukrainian businessman. There are also tapes that undoubtedly nail the president. Or maybe not. And the FBI is investigating Biden for bribery right now. Maybe.
In any case, Republicans definitively have a hot girlfriend in Canada.
Now, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, has had enough.
On Friday, he sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray that is the equivalent of him saying: “You know what, let’s call that girlfriend of yours.”
Specifically, Raskin, who has seen Form FD-1023 and is disputing the characterizations by GOP lawmakers of what it contains, wants Wray to share with the public information that the FBI made available to him and committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) in a briefing earlier this month.
“It is deeply concerning that recent public statements [from Republicans] are plainly inconsistent with statements made by the FBI in the June 5, 2023, briefing,” Raskin wrote. “The statements made by the FBI are critical to fully assess the credibility and validity of the double hearsay allegations set forth in the Form FD-1023.”
Most importantly, the Democratic lawmaker wants the FBI to confirm that, while there was an initial eight-month probe — a so-called assessment — into the allegations detailed on Form FD-1023, that matter was put to rest in August 2020 without escalating it to a preliminary or full investigation because there was “insufficient evidence” for doing so.
“At no point during the briefing did the FBI state or suggest in any way that ‘Joe Biden is currently under investigation for bribery,’” Raskin wrote, pointing to a statement from Comer claiming just that.
The Republican did not waste any time in firing back, saying that Wray had told him there is an ongoing investigation.
“The Biden bribery record contains serious allegations and the American people deserve answers, transparency, and accountability,” Comer said.
Finally, there is something Democrats and Republicans can agree on. It is very clear that this kind of transparency is needed.
That means the ball is now in Wray’s court to say whether or not that hot Canadian girlfriend exists or not.
The public deserves to know.
