Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said on Monday (June 12) that the Burisma executive who allegedly paid United States President Joe Biden and his son Hunter kept 17 audio recordings of his conversations with them as in insurance policy. According to a report by Fox News, Grassley revealed on the Senate floor what was said to be a redacted reference in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)-generated FD-1023 form alleging a criminal bribery scheme between then-vice president Biden and a foreign national that involved influence over American policy decisions.
Grassley said the form had a redacted reference that the Burisma executive possessed fifteen audio recordings of phone calls between himself and Hunter Biden. And as per the Republican Senator, the form also stated that the executive possessed two recordings between himself and Joe Biden.
Grassley slams FBI, demands form to be made public
Grassley criticised the FBI for not complying with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena, saying Congress “still lacks a full and complete picture with respect to what that document really says.”
“That’s why it’s important that the document be made public without unnecessary redactions for the American people to see,” he said, Fox News reported.
The senator also pointed out that the recordings were allegedly kept as a sort of insurance policy for the foreign national in case he got into a tight spot.
“1023 also indicates that then-Vice President Joe Biden may have been involved in Burisma employing Hunter Biden,” Grassley added.
The document was brought to Capitol Hill by the FBI last week after House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer subpoenaed it in May. The report said the FBI briefed Comer and Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin on the form but did not turn over it.
Following this, the committee chairman threatened to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress. Later, the FBI brought the form to a secure setting on Capitol Hill for all members of the Oversight Committee to review. But the document is still not in the committee’s possession.
On Monday, a source told the network the FBI did not redact the section of the form referencing the audio recordings when showing the document solely to Comer and Raskin, but did so for the full committee briefing. The source also said that Comer and Grassley saw the form even before the FBI shared it with Congress.
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