FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate on Tuesday refused to commit to releasing an unclassified FBI document in which an informant alleged that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter engaged in a $10 million bribery scheme with a foreign national.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) asked Abbate during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing several times if he would commit to releasing the unclassified document to the public, but the deputy director repeatedly refused to say “yes” or “no” in reply.
Instead, Abbate said the FBI would work with Hawley and the committee “within the parameters that are established to meet the request,” without specifying what the parameters were.
Abbate claimed that releasing the document would potentially put the FBI informant’s life at risk.
Hawley responded, “You can redact the source’s name. We do this all the time.”
Abbate argued, “In some instances, Senator, and I know you know this, that is not sufficient to protect people. And that’s what we strive and work to do each and every day. And I hope you would take that seriously too.”
Hawley then exploded:
Oh, I take it very seriously. But I also take seriously the fact that your institution has repeatedly abused its authority, has repeatedly targeted political opponents. Your institution is the one that went to the door of pro-life protesters with SWAT teams to try and intimidate people because of their speech. Your institution is the one that treated parents as domestic terrorists because of their speech. Your institution is the one that according to the court, the FISA court, ran 278,000 unwarranted — probably illegal — queries on Americans, right? That was your institution, correct?
Earlier in his questioning of Abbate, Hawley also pointed out that FBI Director Christopher Wray originally would not even confirm the document’s existence during a hearing last month.
“Let’s just get the record straight, the FBI director initially said it doesn’t exist, then Sen. Grassley said ‘I’ve read it,’ then he said, ‘Oh, okay, well gotcha I guess it does exist,’ now you’re going back and forth with members of this committee what’s in it. Why don’t you just release it?” Hawley asked.
The document details what an informant told the FBI, which was that the Bidens allegedly wanted $10 million — $5 million for then-Vice President Joe Biden and $5 million for Hunter Biden — to help the Ukrainian owner of the natural gas company Burisma, who was under investigation for corruption at the time. Ukraine was at the time part of Biden’s portfolio as vice president.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who was first informed of the document by a whistleblower, revealed earlier this week that there were references in the document to 17 audio recordings of phone calls with the Bidens — two with Joe Biden and 15 with Hunter Biden — as an “insurance policy.”
WATCH — Grassley: Foreign National in Alleged Biden Bribery Scheme Has “Insurance Policy” Recordings of Joe and Hunter
C-SPANGrassley then revealed that mention of those recordings was redacted — or obscured — when the document was finally shown to members of the House Oversight Committee last week.
Abbate confirmed to Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) earlier in the hearing that the FBI had made redactions in the document before showing them to members of Congress, as reported by Breitbart News.
The day the FBI allowed the lawmakers access to the document was the same day the Biden Justice Department indicted former President Donald Trump.
WATCH: Marsha Blackburn Grills FBI Deputy Director on “Two Tiers of Justice” Between Trump and Biden
Senate Judiciary Committee
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