[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 76 (Thursday, May 4, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1526-S1527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Justice Department and FBI

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, in the past several years, I have come 
to this Senate Chamber to discuss my constitutional oversight of the 
Justice Department and the FBI. In many of those floor speeches, I have 
discussed legally protected and unclassified whistleblower disclosures 
that were made to my office relating to the Hunter Biden criminal 
investigation.
  These disclosures were made public in the interest of transparency 
and accountability because the public's business should be public, and 
we should know, as Senators or Congressmen and Congresswomen, whether 
the executive branch of government is faithfully executing the laws as 
the Constitution requires.
  Those disclosures that I have made have a very common theme: The 
Justice Department and FBI have allowed political infection to take 
root within each Agency's decision-making process. Such an infection is 
an existential threat to any government Agency, but to a law 
enforcement Agency that can interfere with our constitutional rights, 
such an infection is catastrophic.
  After Crossfire Hurricane, which was the definition of a political 
investigation, the whistleblower disclosures demanded congressional 
attention more than ever. So I wrote public letters asking questions. I 
directly asked the same to the Attorney General and the FBI Director at 
committee hearings. I have asked them about allegations that politics 
infected the Hunter Biden

[[Page S1527]]

investigation. This sort of political bias erodes trust in government 
and prevents the equal application of the law as required by the 
Constitution.
  I have also asked them about allegations that the FBI used false 
claims of Russian disinformation to bury potential criminal 
investigations about Hunter and James Biden. Also, I asked them about 
allegations regarding specific records within the Department's 
possession relating to potential criminal conduct by the Bidens. I have 
asked about allegations regarding specific records that show Joe Biden 
may have been involved in Hunter Biden's business arrangements.
  The allegations my office has received are very precise, very direct, 
and very consistent. Accordingly, they are highly credible. These 
credible allegations raise important and fundamental questions, like 
these questions:
  Did the FBI follow normal investigative procedures to vet these 
claims?
  Did the FBI follow the facts wherever they led, or did they 
improperly shut down credible leads in advance of the 2020 election?
  Remember, I have been raising these questions for a long period of 
time. I have done it through many venues: letters, in hearings, in 
private calls with Agency leadership, and, like today, right here on 
the floor of the U.S. Senate.
  The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation had 
plenty of opportunities to respond to all of these questions I have 
raised. Not once--let me emphasize: not once has the Justice Department 
or FBI ever substantively disputed the whistleblower allegations that I 
have made public. I have given Attorney General Garland and Director 
Wray every opportunity to put our worst fears to rest and assure the 
American people, as they should, that everything has been done by the 
book. Both Agencies have failed to do so.
  Just think how simple it is to say that everything was done the right 
way--if they could say that. And that ought to tell you something. Even 
with their credibility on the line, the FBI and Justice Department have 
refused to cooperate when asked for basic information. So, as you know 
if you have been following all this stuff--and I don't expect people to 
have time to do that--yesterday, House Chairman Comer issued a letter 
accompanied by a subpoena from the House committee demanding one FBI 
document. Based on protected and highly credible whistleblower 
disclosures, the unclassified document exists, and it is allegedly 
referencing a criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden.
  Notably, it is a crime to provide false information to Congress 
during a congressional investigation.
  Most importantly, this very document was generated by the FBI 
themselves. It is time for the Justice Department and FBI to come clean 
to the American people. What did the Justice Department and FBI do to 
investigate the information in the document at issue? The answer goes 
to the heart of whether taxpayer-funded government Agencies proceed 
normally or whether that Agency cuts corners.
  Simply put, did the Justice Department and the FBI treat this 
information like they would if ``We the People'' were implicated, or 
did they sweep it under the rug to protect then-candidate Biden and 
now-President Biden?
  If the Justice Department and FBI have any hope of redeeming their 
once trusted position--and that is what the American people have long 
held, to trust the FBI--Attorney General Garland and Director Wray must 
answer. Their credibility is on the line.
  I yield the floor.