Former Attorney General Bill Barr has refuted claims that an investigation into President Joe Biden for allegedly accepting a $5 million bribe was closed down.
This statement contradicts Democrat Representative Jamie Raskin's comments on Monday following a closed-door meeting with House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer and the FBI. Barr told The Federalist, "It's not true. It wasn't closed down."
Raskin had previously stated that Attorney General Barr appointed Scott Brady, the U.S. attorney for Western Pennsylvania, to lead a group of prosecutors investigating Ukraine-related allegations. Raskin said, "After Rudy Giuliani surfaced these allegations, Brady's team looked into the FD-1023 and in August determined that there were no grounds to escalate from an initial assessment to a preliminary investigation," leading to the investigation's closure.
Raskin further emphasized that any complaints should be directed at Attorney General William Barr, the Trump Justice Department, and the team appointed by the Trump administration to look into the matter. In a press release, Raskin reiterated that "Trump's own Department of Justice was able to reach a conclusion about this information," adding that "In August 2020, Attorney General Barr and his hand-picked U.S. Attorney signed off on closing the assessment, having found no evidence to corroborate Mr. Giuliani's allegations."
However, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer told The Federalist that a trusted, confidential human source (CHS) had obtained information from a foreign national who claimed to have bribed then-Vice President Biden. Comer accused the FBI of attempting a cover-up and the Democrats of lying to the American people.
The investigation originated from a whistleblower who alleged in September 2020 that the FBI had restricted the assessment so that only specific agents could access the information. This restriction would mean that agents in Delaware would not have access to investigate the allegations made by the CHS.
Comer demanded that the FBI produce the record to the House Oversight Committee's custody, warning that if they fail, "we will take action on Thursday to hold Director Wray in contempt of Congress."
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