Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson are demanding the release and declassification of records they say were improperly classified or compartmented by the FBI, limiting congressional access to information involving investigations of Joe and Hunter Biden before the 2020 election.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., are pressing federal law enforcement and intelligence officials to release records they contend contain evidence involving the Biden family that was improperly classified and kept from congressional scrutiny.
The senators directed their request to Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, according to the New York Post.
Grassley and Johnson allege that records connected to an FBI investigation involving former President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden were classified in a manner that created barriers for Congress seeking information about the inquiry before the 2020 presidential election.
“The available records cause serious concerns about how federal law enforcement and the Intelligence Community used its resources to downgrade allegations of criminality relating to the Biden family apparently without sufficient investigation,” Grassley and Johnson wrote.
Their letter alleges that the classification practices occurred while Christopher Wray was serving as FBI director.
Under Wray, the senators wrote, the bureau “intentionally misclassified information a certain way which would result in more obstacles to obtaining access, whether it be Congress or the American people who sought it.”
Grassley said records he has obtained indicate that significant information involving the Bidens was stored in a particularly restricted classified location.
He described much of the material as having been “parked away in a hidden classified compartment.”
The senators are now seeking broader public disclosure of those records as they continue examining how federal agencies handled allegations involving the Biden family during the period leading up to the 2020 election.
Grassley also pointed to a December 2019 email between FBI officials that he says deserves further declassification.
The message was sent by FBI Section Chief Tony Riedinger to FBI Supervisory Special Agent Joe Pientka.
According to the Post, Grassley said the email appeared “to corroborate existing public evidence that President Trump was the target of a political hit” and argued that it should be “declassified to the fullest extent possible under the law.”
The request comes shortly after another release of records concerning how the FBI handled information involving the Biden family.
Last week, the White House Government Transparency Task Force declassified documents indicating that the FBI was seeking to “red flag” information supplied by confidential informants concerning Biden family “corruption and other Ukraine-related topics,” according to the Post.
Grassley and Johnson argue that the newly available records raise broader questions about whether federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies gave sufficient consideration to allegations involving the Bidens or instead used classification and internal procedures to limit access to the information.
Their claims remain allegations about the handling of federal records and investigations; the material described in their letter does not by itself establish criminal wrongdoing by Joe Biden, Hunter Biden or other members of the Biden family.
The senators are asking the Justice Department, FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence to make the relevant records available and declassify material to the maximum extent permitted by law.
The dispute adds to the continuing congressional examination of federal law enforcement activity surrounding the 2020 election, including how politically sensitive information involving both Biden and President Donald Trump was collected, classified, evaluated and shared inside the government.
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