Grassley: FBI response ‘raises additional questions’ over Biden

DES MOINES — Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said he received a letter, but no documents, on Wednesday from the FBI in response to a request for records that allegedly describe an unspecified “criminal scheme” involving Democratic President Joe Biden.

The Iowa senator and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., made the request last week in response to unspecified whistleblower reports they described as highly credible. In addition to a joint letter, Comer issued a subpoena to the FBI through the House Oversight Committee.

According to a letter from the congressmen to the FBI director and Attorney General Merrick Garland, the reports allege the FBI and Department of Justice have documents that describe a scheme “involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.”

“Based on the alleged specificity within the document, it would appear that the DOJ and the FBI have enough information to determine the truth and accuracy of the information contained within it. However, it remains unclear what steps, if any, were taken to investigate the matter,” the letter said.

Grassley told reporters Wednesday he received a reply from the FBI, but he had not reviewed it entirely as of Wednesday afternoon. He said he did not receive the alleged document, but the agency did not dispute its existence.

“It's a five- or six-page letter that I've got to go through, and not only me as a farmer, but we're going to have our lawyers go through it,” Grassley told reporters. “We're reviewing the FBI’s response, and we’ll have more to say when we've completed that review.”

In a news release later Wednesday, Grassley said the FBI’s response to the request “indicates the document is real.”

“Today’s letter from the FBI raises additional questions, including whether the FBI has an open investigation based on these allegations,” he said.

In a statement last week, White House spokesperson Ian Sams dismissed the Republican allegations.

“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 U.S. interests,” Sams said.

Grassley and Comer’s request comes as House Republicans are ramping up investigations into the foreign business activities of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and other family members. House Republicans released a memo Wednesday detailing what they called “influence peddling and financial deception” based on foreign payments to members of Biden’s family, but they did not reveal any direct connection to the president.