Drawing rebuke from federal law enforcement, Sen. Chuck Grassley released the much discussed FBI-generated FD-1023 form in which it is alleged that then-Vice President Joe Biden engaged in a criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national.
The 89-year-old Republican Senator, who has long worked to protect whistleblowers, says he released the redacted form in the interest of transparency. The release of the document, which House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer has characterized as a bombshell revelation, means the “American people can now read this document for themselves, without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats,” according to Grassley.
Rep. Dan Goldman was among those who took issue with the release of the document, an internal FBI form not designed for public inspection. Instead of overtly slamming Grassley for the release, Goldman looked to deliver context around the document itself — seeking to undermine the message more than the messenger.
Acknowledging that Grassley had already let this cat out of the bag, Goldman attempts to define what kind of cat it is — a toothless, clawless feline, in his estimation.
Using three bullet points, Goldman leads with the fact that Donald Trump‘s DOJ did not find the allegation worthy of investigation.
Here’s what we know about these unverified allegations:
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) July 23, 2023
1) Trump’s DOJ had this information and did not find it sufficiently credible to investigate.
2) the source of the information subsequently denied it.
3) The Burisma Russian propaganda has repeatedly been debunked. https://t.co/gzRap4tD22
Goldman writes:
Here’s what we know about these unverified allegations: 1) Trump’s DOJ had this information and did not find it sufficiently credible to investigate. 2) the source of the information subsequently denied it. 3) The Burisma Russian propaganda has repeatedly been debunked.
The White House, in its response, took on Grassley the messenger as well as the message.
“It is remarkable that congressional Republicans…continue to push claims that have been debunked for years,” said White House spokesperson Ian Sams. “It’s clear that congressional Republicans are dead-set on playing shameless, dishonest politics and refuse to let truth get in the way.”
House Oversight Committee Chair Comer and Sen. Grassley started demanding FBI Director Christopher Wray hand over the FBI-generated record back in May. The FBI resisted on protocol — though at the time Director Wray made the FD-1023 available to the Committee for examination.
