In May 2023, President Biden's main opponent, Sen. Charles E. Grassley, strode onto the Senate floor with shocking news. He said he learned of documents in the FBI's possession that could reveal “criminal plans involved at the time.” -Vice President Biden. ”
Mr. Grassley, an Iowa Republican, suggested to the American people listening that there was a single document supporting the most sensational corruption allegations against Mr. Biden and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was engaged in a cover-up.
“Did they cover it up to protect candidate Biden?” he asked conspiratorially.
In the months that followed, Mr. Grassley's efforts to make public the allegations contained in an obscure document known as an FBI Form 1023 became an obsession and a growing base for Republicans to impeach Mr. Biden in return for Democrats. It became. Treatment of former President Donald J. Trump.
At the center of it all was an unsubstantiated accusation that Mr. Biden had accepted a $5 million bribe from an executive at the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
But what neither Mr. Grassley nor the other Republicans who amplified the allegation said in a breathless statement is that the accusation is unsubstantiated and its credibility is unclear, and that FBI officials are He said he had repeatedly warned them to be careful.
All the documents proved, federal law enforcement officials said, was that a confidential source said something and wrote it down. And now federal prosecutors are saying the claims are a fabrication.
But despite early warnings Republicans received about this material, that didn't stop them from repeating the unverified claims hundreds of times over several months in public and in interviews with right-wing media. Ta.
Rep. James R. Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the Oversight Committee, said the source of the allegations is “very credible,” while Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. called the document “our most corroborating evidence.” have. “
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the No. 3 Republican in the House and one of Mr. Trump's most vocal supporters in the chamber, said this was “the biggest political event not just in my lifetime but in the last 100 years.” It's a corruption scandal.'' ”
Republicans read it into the Congressional Record, posted it as a “sensitive” document on the House Republican impeachment inquiry website, and even threatened to insult FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, who asked him to send the document unredacted. Copy form.
A federal grand jury in California last week indicted the accuser, former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, on charges of fabricating the story to help defeat Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors also said in court filings that Smirnov, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen who worked as a businessman and fixer in the former Soviet Union, told federal investigators that “Russian intelligence officials He claimed that he had been involved in the incident. An unspecified story about the president's son Hunter Biden, who was on Burisma's board.
Current and former law enforcement officials say confidential informants always complain about unconfirmed information from a single source, often to impress the person in charge or settle a grudge. He said the publication of live reports is strictly prohibited.
In a series of pointed letters to congressional Republicans over the spring and summer of last year, FBI officials explained why they were reluctant to show lawmakers the form containing the allegations, even if it was private.
“The mere existence of such a document establishes little beyond the fact that a confidential human source provided the information and that the FBI recorded it,” said Christopher Dunham, the FBI's deputy director, in 2023. Written on May 10th.
“In fact, the FBI regularly receives information from sources with significant underlying biases, motives, and knowledge, including drug traffickers, members of organized crime, and even terrorists,” he added. .
In a separate letter, Mr. Dunham warned Mr. Comer that revealing unsubstantiated claims would jeopardize other confidential intelligence sources and have a “chilling effect” on other recruitments.
But weeks later, after House Republicans threatened to hold Mr. Wray in contempt of Congress for refusing to share the form, the agency reluctantly decided to provide an edited copy for viewing in a secure facility at the Capitol. Agreed. And some Republican lawmakers who saw it dismissed the agency's warnings, describing it as positive evidence that Biden is corrupt.
When news broke last week that the Justice Department had indicted Mr. Smirnov on trumped-up charges, Republicans downplayed previous statements and said the accusers are generally believed to be: He accused FBI and Justice Department officials of telling him. Trustworthy source of information. (Democrats and Republicans agree that officials initially told Congress the source was “highly reliable,” even though the allegations against Biden had not been verified.) ing.)
Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck, who has been skeptical of the impeachment push, said sarcastically of his colleagues: “I'm sure they're apologizing now.” “I'm sure they're saying, 'Wow, Coach Ray, you did the right thing.' I really appreciate your professionalism.”
Buck, a former prosecutor for 25 years, said the FBI handled the charges the way any professional law enforcement agency should.
“You can't just run to the press every time a witness says something, because you don't know the reliability of that testimony,” Buck said. “It was premature to make a big deal about how important this was without knowing the reliability of the testimony.”
Despite the department's warnings, members of the party's right wing escalated their attacks by linking it to the impeachment inquiry, even though Republican investigators failed to produce evidence to support the bribery claims.
After showing the documents to lawmakers, Comer even criticized reporters who called the allegations “unconfirmed” instead of reporting that the informant was “very reliable.”
In the weeks that followed, Mr. Comer, Mr. Jordan, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and many other members of Congress touted the allegations.
Perhaps no one has gone as deep as Stefanik. Stefanik appeared on Fox News to discuss what he described as the corruption scandal of the century.
“Multiple members of the Biden family have illegally benefited from foreign governments,” Stefanik said. “There's also a bombshell report that includes tapes that may exist showing Joe Biden accepting bribes from Burisma while he was Vice President.” (It's clear what she's referring to.) It was not; the complaint contained no mention of the tape.)
And Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, said the document provided concrete evidence of what Republicans had long suspected.
“This is definitely what the Oversight has been speculating,” she said. But now, she added, “there is evidence.”
In a few weeks, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia will read the allegations into the Congressional Record. “This document contains damning information that then-Vice President Joe Biden received a $5 million bribe from an oligarch who owns Burisma. Not only did I receive it, but so did Hunter Biden.”
That's enough grounds to begin impeaching Biden, she added.
“What I'm asking for is for the Republican-led House to move forward with an impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden, because this type of corruption should never go unchecked,” she said.
The indictment, unsealed in California federal court, depicts Smirnov as a serial liar whose motives for targeting Biden are rooted in the same political animus that drove Republicans to push his case. It seems like it was.
During the 2020 campaign, he sent FBI agents a “series of messages expressing bias” against Biden, including texts full of typos and misspellings, threatening to land him in prison. He boasted that he had information that could be included.
Democrats are calling for an end to the impeachment inquiry following Smirnov's indictment.
Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat who was a federal prosecutor, said the FBI should never have released Form 1023.
“Their actions amount to a complete dereliction of duty as investigators and are another reason why this investigation should be stopped immediately,” he said.
Rather than admit that they had overstated the evidence, Republicans reversed course.
Despite Grassley's role in sparking the riot, his office denied that the Iowans abetted the allegations and added, Mr. Grassley just asked.”
A spokesperson for Mr. Grassley also claimed some victory, as the senator ultimately forced the FBI to investigate the allegations. “Given the timeline set forth in the Justice Department's indictment, it is clear that the FBI began its investigation only after Sen. Grassley released 1023,” she said.
Comer said the impeachment inquiry is currently “not dependent” on forms detailing bribery charges.
Jordan said Smirnov's indictment “does not change the basic facts” of the case against Biden.
Republicans quietly removed references to the documents from requests to interview witnesses in the impeachment inquiry.
And by Friday, the 1023 form had been removed from a section of the impeachment inquiry website called “Key Evidence.”
Kenneth P. Vogel Contributed to the report. zach montague and kitty bennett contributed to research.
