The FBI is willing to allow the full House Oversight Committee to review an internal law enforcement document that includes an unverified allegation that Joe Biden, while vice president, was involved in a bribery scheme involving a foreign national, sources familiar with the decision tell CNN.
The FBI is willing to hold a briefing with members of the panel and allow them to view the document, known as an FD-1023, as early as Wednesday, the sources said, in an effort to stave off expected contempt of Congress proceedings. The FBI has been reluctant to share the full document, stressing that FD-1023 forms contain unverified claims provided by confidential human sources. The White House has denied the allegation and dismissed the GOP probe as a political stunt.
Senior FBI officials briefed House Oversight Chairman James Comer and Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the committee, earlier this week and allowed them to review the document. But the bureau has declined to hand over a hard copy of the document, noting it contains unverified information from a confidential human source.
The bureau's latest move to accommodate the committee's demands comes one day before Comer is slated to formally begin proceedings to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress for failing to turn the document, which he subpoenaed last month, over to the committee.
A spokesperson for Comer and the Oversight Republicans told CNN they have not yet been approached by the FBI about this latest accommodation.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has so far supported Comer's efforts to move forward with contempt and vowed to hold a full vote on the House floor as early as next week, told CNN on Wednesday that House Republicans are prepared to cease the contempt proceedings if the FBI agreed to allow the entire Oversight Committee to view document.
"All he has to do is follow through and allow everybody on the committee" to view it, McCarthy told CNN in an interview. "If he would supply that to them, there wouldn't be a contempt (vote). That's all we're asking him to do. It's rational. It's sensible. It's what his responsibility is to do. If he won't follow through on the most basic things, then he'll be held in contempt."
The alleged bribery claims documented in the 1023 form surfaced years ago under the Trump administration and eventually became part of Delaware US Attorney David Weiss' investigation of Hunter Biden, which remains ongoing, people briefed on the matter said. The 1023 includes allegations related to Hunter Biden, as well as Joe Biden, according to people familiar with matter.
The FBI interviewed the informant, who was known to the bureau and had considered him a trusted source based on interactions in a previous investigation. Investigators were unable to corroborate the claims, but Pittsburgh US Attorney Scott Brady, who then-Attorney General William Barr had appointed to review allegations brought to the Justice Department by Rudy Giuliani, decided to send the informant's allegations to Weiss, who was already leading the Hunter Biden probe.
It's unclear what additional steps the FBI took to investigate the claims, but Weiss' investigation of Hunter Biden has since narrowed in scope to focus on alleged tax violations and a possible false statement.
