LISTEN HERE:
Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, has claimed that a Burisma executive paid Joe Biden and Hunter Biden and kept 17 audio recordings of his conversations with them as an “insurance policy.”
Grassley cited the FBI FD-1023 form, which the bureau briefed congressional lawmakers on. A criminal bribery scheme between then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national that involved influence over U.S. policy decisions is alleged in the redacted reference in the FBI-generated FD-1023 form. Last week, Fox News Digital exclusively reported on the contents of the form.
The June 30, 2020 FD-1023 form is the FBI’s interview with a confidential source who had multiple meetings and conversations with a top Burisma executive starting in 2015. According to Grassley, the FD-1023 has a redacted reference that the Burisma executive possesses fifteen audio recordings of phone calls between himself and Hunter Biden.
The FD-1023 also states that the executive possesses two audio recordings of phone calls between himself and then-Vice President Joe Biden.
Grassley criticized 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.
” According to Grassley, the 17 recordings were “allegedly kept as a sort of insurance policy for the foreign national in case he got into a tight spot.” The 1023 also indicates that then-Vice President Joe Biden may have been involved in Burisma employing Hunter Biden.
“The Justice Department and FBI must show their work,” Grassley said. “They no longer deserve the benefit of the doubt.” The FBI brought the document to Capitol Hill last week after House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer subpoenaed it last month.
The FBI briefed Comer and committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin on the form in a SCIF on Capitol Hill, but did not turn over the document. Comer threatened to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress.
According to the FD-1023 form, the confidential human source said the Burisma executive discussed Hunter’s role on the board. The Burisma executive explained that Burisma had to “pay the Bidens” because Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin was investigating Burisma, and explained how difficult it would be to enter the U.S. market in the midst of that investigation.
The confidential source suggested to the Burisma executive that he “pay the Bidens $50,000 each,” to which the executive replied, it is “not $50,000,” it is “$5 million.”
“$5 million for one Biden, $5 million for the other Biden,” the executive told the confidential human source, according to a source familiar with the document.
A source familiar with the document said the $5 million payments appeared to reference a kind of “retainer” Burisma intended to pay the Bidens to deal with a number of issues, including the investigation led by Shokin. Another source referred to the arrangement as a “pay-to-play” scheme.
Sources familiar told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source believes that the $5 million payment to Joe Biden and the $5 million payment to Hunter Biden occurred, based on his or her conversations with the Burisma executive.
The document then makes reference to “the Big Guy”, which may be a reference to Joe Biden. The Burisma executive told the confidential source that he “didn’t pay the Big Guy directly.” Sources said the Burisma executive appears to be at a “very, very high level” of the company.
One source familiar suggested the confidential source could be referring to the head of Burisma, Mykola Zlochevsky, but said the name of the Burisma executive is redacted in the document. Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin.
At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, and at the time, Hunter had a highly-lucrative role on the board receiving thousands of dollars per month. The then-vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired.
The White House maintained that President Biden has never been involved in his son’s business dealings and has never discussed them with him.
And it has noted that removing Shokin was administration policy at the time. Hunter Biden is currently under federal investigation for his “tax affairs.” The investigation began in 2018 and was prompted by suspicious foreign transactions.
The Burisma executive discussed Hunter’s role on the board with the confidential human source, according to the FD-1023 form. The Burisma executive explained that Burisma had to “pay the Bidens” because Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin was investigating Burisma.
The confidential source suggested to the Burisma executive that he “pay the Bidens $50,000 each,” to which the executive replied, it is “not $50,000,” it is “$5 million.”
According to a source familiar with the document, sources familiar told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source believes that the $5 million payment to Joe Biden and the $5 million payment to Hunter Biden occurred, based on his or her conversations with the Burisma executive.
The document then makes reference to “the Big Guy, ” which may be a reference to Joe Biden.
“The Justice Department and FBI must show their work,” Grassley said. “They no longer deserve the benefit of the doubt.” The FBI brought the document to Capitol Hill last week after House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer subpoenaed it last month.
The FBI briefed Comer and committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, but did not turn over the document. Comer threatened to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress.
Hunter Biden is currently under federal investigation for his “tax affairs.” The investigation began in 2018 and was prompted by suspicious foreign transactions. The White House declined to comment, pointing to a statement by Joe Biden Thursday calling the allegations “a bunch of malarky.”
The FBI made a further accommodation and later brought the form to a secure setting on Capitol Hill for all Oversight Committee members to view, but the document is still not in the committee’s possession. Grassley demanded answers on “what, if anything, has the Justice Department and FBI done to investigate?”
Grassley revealed from the Senate floor Monday what was said to be a redacted reference in the FBI-generated FD-1023 form alleging a criminal bribery scheme between then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national that involved influence over U.S. policy decisions.
Grassley said the FD-1023 has a redacted reference that the Burisma executive possesses fifteen audio recordings of phone calls between himself and Hunter Biden. According to Grassley, the FD-1023 also states that the executive possesses two audio recordings of phone calls between himself and then-Vice President Joe Biden.
