Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca.) on Tuesday pushed back against a reporter who asked the House Speaker to respond to Democrats’ assertion that a document that Republicans claim contains evidence that’s the basis for advancing an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden was already reviewed by the Justice Department during the Trump administration.
The FD-1023 form includes unsubstantiated reports of a confidential informant who accused Biden of being involved in a foreign bribery scheme with a Ukrainian business executive while serving as vice president. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released the document publicly on Thursday on Twitter.
“What would an impeachment inquiry allow congressional investigators that the oversight committees and judiciary committees don't already have? And how would you respond to Democrats' contention that the (FD-1023 tax form) was in the possession of the justice department during the Trump administration under Attorney General (Bill) Barr and they found it not to be credible enough to move forward with that?” the reporter asks McCarthy.
McCarthy disputed the premise of the question, saying “Not true, not true.”
“If you listen to what Barr came forward, Barr said he moved the 1023 when he found out about it to the, I believe it was the Philadelphia Department of the Justice Department. That Justice Department came back and said that – and don't quote me because I got to get the right terms exactly what they said – but they said there was more merit and more information.
“When have you found a justice department of attorneys to find more information than the FBI? The FBI did nothing with it.”
McCarthy suggested the reporter’s question actually validated plans for the impeachment inquiry.
“And you raise a very good point here because you bring up that, what we have now found from the IRS agents, the whistle-blowers who came forth that they were denied this document while they were investigating.
Not only were they denied the document when they had a meeting, then they're going to talk about it. They were, they asked to be a part of it and they were denied to be there,” McCarthy said.
“Now that raises lots of questions. You never want people to question that type of thing. You want to be forthcoming.”
McCarthy said it’s a concern that an impeachment inquiry can resolve.
“It gives us the apex of the power of Congress for Republicans and Democrats to gather the information that they need,” McCarthy said.
“So when we're continuing that you raise a question like this, wondering what's right or wrong, you would want the truth as well just as you're covering it for the American public that simply provides is that the American public has a right to know and this allows Congress to get the information, to be able to know the truth.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Thursday slammed Republicans over the release of the document.
“This FBI document released by Republicans records the unverified, secondhand, years-old allegations relayed by a confidential human source who stated he could not provide ‘further opinion as to the veracity’ of these allegations,” Raskin said in a statement.
“Even (Sen. Ron) Johnson (R-Wis.) recognized these allegations may have been fabricated out of thin air.”
