by Debra Heine
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced on Monday that the Burisma executive who allegedly bribed Joe and Hunter Biden kept 17 audio recordings of his conversations with them as an “insurance policy” in case he got “in a tight spot.”
Early last month, a whistleblower made legally protected disclosures to Grassley’s office regarding an FBI-generated FD-1023 form detailing an arrangement involving an exchange of money for policy decisions while Joe Biden was vice president.
On the Senate floor Monday, the Iowa senator revealed that the FD-1023 form has a redacted reference to fifteen audio recordings of phone calls between the Burisma executive and Hunter Biden, and two audio recordings of phone calls between himself and then-Vice President Joe Biden.
“According to the 1023, the foreign national possesses 15 audio recordings of phone calls between him and Hunter Biden,” Grassley said. “According to the 1023, the foreign national possesses 2 audio recordings of phone calls between him and then VP Joe Biden.”
The senator added: “These recordings were allegedly kept as a sort of insurance policy for the foreign national in case that he got into a tight spot.”
Grassley went on to suggest there was an additional charge of Biden corruption in the document.
“The 1023 also indicates that then vice president Joe Biden may have been involved in Burisma employing Hunter Biden,” he said, referring to the younger Biden’s highly-lucrative role on the energy company’s board.
Grassley continued:
Based on the facts known to the Congress and to the public, it’s clear that the Justice Department and FBI haven’t nearly had the same laser focus on the Biden family. Special Counsel Jack Smith has used a recording against former President Trump. Well, what is U.S. Attorney Weiss doing with respect to these alleged Joe and Hunter Biden recordings that are apparently relevant to the high stakes bribery scheme?
Getting a full and complete 1023 is critical for the American people to know and understand the true nature of the document and to hold the DOJ and the FBI accountable.
After the whistleblower disclosure to Grassley’s office in May, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena to FBI Director Christopher Wray demanding immediate access to the bribery document.
After stonewalling the Committee for weeks, Wray finally allowed Comer and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) to view the file last Monday in a SCIF on Capitol Hill. In brief remarks after viewing the file, Comer demanded full custody of the document, telling reporters that it was essential for the committee to investigate the matter further because “Americans have lost trust in the FBI’s ability to enforce the law impartially.”
Facing a Contempt hearing on Thursday, Wray late Wednesday relented, promising the Committee full custody of the bribery document.
In his remarks Monday, Grassley slammed the FBI for not fully 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.”
“That’s why it’s important that the document be made public without unnecessary redactions for the American people to see,” he said. “Congress owes it to the American people and the brave and heroic whistleblowers to continue to fight for transparency in this matter and make this document public without unnecessary redactions,” Grassley added.
🚨 Senator @ChuckGrassley says the Burisma executive who allegedly bribed the Bidens with $5 million kept secret "audio recordings of his conversations with them" — including two recordings of calls with then-VP Biden and 15 with Hunter. pic.twitter.com/bP1tuYAKK8
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 12, 2023
After an exclusive briefing on the form, Fox News Digital reported last week that the confidential human source told the FBI that the Burisma executive had spoken with him to “get advice on the best way to go forward” in 2015 and 2016 to gain U.S. oil rights and be involved with a U.S. oil company. The whistleblower said Joe and Hunter Biden received $5 million each in what was described as a “pay to play” scheme.
According to the FD-1023 form, the confidential human source said the Burisma executive discussed Hunter’s role on the board. The confidential human source questioned why the Burisma executive needed his or her advice in acquiring access to U.S. oil if he had Hunter Biden on the board. The Burisma executive answered by referring to Hunter Biden as “dumb.”
The Burisma executive explained to the confidential source 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 further detailed that conversation, suggesting to the Burisma executive that he “pay the Bidens $50,000 each,” to which the Burisma executive replied, it is “not $50,000,” it is “$5 million.”
“$5 million for one Biden, $5 million for the other Biden,” the Burisma executive told the confidential human source, according to a source familiar with the document.
A source familiar said according to the document, 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 whistleblower said the Burisma executive told him he “paid” the Bidens in such a manner “through so many different bank accounts” that investigators would not be able to “unravel this for at least 10 years.”
In now infamous remarks during foreign policy panel discussion in January of 2018, Biden bragged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire Shokin, who was investigating Burisma Holdings at the time. The then-vice president said he threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired.
“Well, son of a bitch,” Biden crowed. “He got fired!”
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Debra Heine reports for American Greatness.
Photo “Hunter and Joe Biden” by Louise Palanker. CC BY-SA 2.0.
