[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 128 (Monday, August 1, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S3796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FBI Investigations
Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, we all know that Congress has a
constitutional responsibility to ensure that the executive branch
executes the laws and uses taxpayers' money appropriately in accordance
with congressional intent. It doesn't matter whether we have a
Republican President, a Democratic President, a Republican Senate, or a
Democratic Senate. We all have the constitutional responsibility of
checking the executive branch.
In furtherance of that constitutional responsibility, Congress has an
obligation to investigate the executive branch for fraud, for waste,
for abuse, and even gross mismanagement.
And if Congress finds potential wrongdoing, we have an obligation to
the American people to make sure that it is public because transparency
of the public's business brings accountability to those who conduct
that public business.
Last week, I made public two oversight letters that I have sent to
the Justice Department and to the FBI. These two letters are part of my
investigation into a political bias that is infecting the Department of
Justice and the FBI.
These letters are based on information provided to my office by
whistleblowers, and I hope everybody knows that I consider
whistleblowers as patriots. And whistleblowers have to have guts, and
they do have guts.
And Director Wray has personally told me that these whistleblowers
won't be subject to retaliation, as often, whistleblowers in the
Federal Government are subject to retaliation, hurting themselves
professionally and maybe even losing their jobs.
Now, these letters that I sent follow up on a May 31, 2022, letter to
the Justice Department, the FBI, and the inspector general.
In those letters, I provided evidence of extreme leftwing bias shown
by a special agent in charge by the name of Tim Thibault. He is special
agent in charge of the FBI's Washington field office.
Now, he has since been referred to the Office of Special Counsel for
potential Hatch Act violations. Thibault is at the center of my two
letters sent last week. The first letter relates to an FBI
investigation that Thibault opened on the Trump campaign and its
advisers. He allegedly had help from Richard Pilger, an official in the
Justice Department's Election Crime Branch within the Public Integrity
Section. During Chairman Durbin's investigation into the Justice
Department misconduct, Pilger really stood out.
The committee interviewed Richard Donoghue, the former Principal
Associate Deputy Attorney General during the Trump administration. He
was also a key January 6 Committee witness. Donoghue testified to the
Judiciary Committee that Pilger's conduct frustrated the Department's
ability to properly operate the Elections Crime Branch.
Thibault and Pilger played a major role in opening the criminal
investigation into the Trump campaign. And this isn't a preliminary
investigation; it is a full investigation, which requires heightened
standards to go forward with that investigation.
According to the whistleblowers that contacted my office, the opening
memo for that investigation is based, in substantial part, on liberal
news reporting. Liberal news reports are not enough for a full
investigation. The Washington Post reported on the investigation last
Tuesday. However, the Post did not report that Thibault and Pilger were
involved in opening that case against Trump and his advisers. Yet
Attorney General Garland and Director Wray allegedly approved opening
those investigations.
Now, as I have said in my letter to those two people, if you are
going to open an investigation, you have to do it in the right way.
So let's contrast this investigation with what the FBI has done with
the information received from sources relating to Hunter Biden.
Whistleblowers have told my office that the FBI maintains many sources
that have provided extensive information on Hunter Biden. That
information allegedly involves potential criminal activity, such as
money laundering. That is the same criminal concern that Senator
Johnson and I raised in our 2020 Biden report. To clarify, that was way
back in 2020. According to the whistleblowers' allegations, the
underlying information was verified and was verifiable.
Now, here is where it is appropriate to raise questions about
politics and political interference in investigations. However, instead
of green-lighting the investigative activity, the FBI shut down the
Hunter investigation.
So, now, how did they do that? According to allegations, in August
2020, FBI Supervisory Intelligence Analyst Brian Auten opened an
assessment. That assessment was used by the FBI officials to improperly
discredit Hunter Biden's information as you know what? Disinformation.
Those officials allegedly included Thibault.
Then, in October 2020, an avenue of additional Hunter reporting was
ordered closed at the direction of Special Agent Thibault. It has been
alleged that Thibault and others suggested to FBI agents that the
information was at risk of being you know what? Disinformation.
However, according to allegations, the source reporting was either
verified or verifiable via criminal search warrants.
Thibault allegedly ordered the matter closed without providing a
valid reason as required by FBI guidelines. In other words, Thibault
shut down an allegedly legitimate avenue of information. So in order to
shut down Hunter Biden sources and investigative leads, the FBI engaged
in a disinformation campaign against itself and its own agents. If
these allegations are true and accurate, the Justice Department and the
FBI are and have been substantially corrupted.
Before I conclude, I want to know four things regarding the summer of
2020. Yes, the summer of 2020: The opening of Auten's assessment in
August 2020; secondly, efforts by the FBI officials to shut down Hunter
Biden's investigative activity; third, efforts by the FBI to provide a
really unnecessary briefing to me and Senator Johnson in August of
2020--that reading was purportedly about our Biden investigation, but
it had nothing to do with the Biden investigation--fourth, and lastly,
leaks relating to the briefing and the liberal media and Democrats
falsely accusing me and Senator Johnson of advancing Russian
information.
All of those four data points happened as Senator Johnson and I
prepared to finalize our September 2020 Biden report. These data points
show a plan was in place at the FBI to undermine anything related to
Hunter Biden.
Attorney General Garland and Director Wray, you both have an
obligation to the country to immediately investigate these allegations
and to clean house.
And my oversight work on this and related matters will certainly
continue.