FBI Director Christopher Wray said whistleblower complaints alleging FBI agents falsely labeled information disparaging Hunter Biden as disinformation are “deeply troubling,” but Republicans are calling on him to further acknowledge broader “politicization” within the bureau. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday, Wray was asked by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., about allegations “highly credible informants” at the Justice Department and FBI shared with Sen. Chuck’s office Grassley last week. Grassley, in a letter to Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland last week, explained the allegations and said the whistleblowers said “there was a scheme among certain FBI officials to undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter Biden falsely suggesting it was misinformation. “ The whistleblowers also alleged a “pattern of active public partisanship” at the agencies related to investigations into the Trump campaign and the suppression of information related to the Hunter Biden investigation. GRASSLEY PRESSES DOJ, FBI ON TRANSPARENCY IN ‘PARTY’ POLITICS OF ORGANIZATIONS, HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATION “When I read the letter describing the kinds of things you’re talking about, I found it deeply troubling,” Wray testified Thursday. The complainants alleged a “pattern of active public partisanship” by Assistant Special Agent Timothy Thibaut and others. Grassley warned Wray and Garland in his letter last week that “Thibault’s partisanship likely influenced investigations informed and approved by senior Justice Department and FBI officials.” According to Grassley, the whistleblowers say that Justice Department and FBI officials must follow strict substantive procedures in order to open an investigation, and that Thibault did not follow those policies. Wray, during the hearing, promised that those whistleblowers would be protected. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday, Wray was asked by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., about allegations that “very credible informants” at the Justice Department and the FBI shared with Sen. Chuck’s office Grassley last week. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Wray also removed Thibault from his supervisory role. But Sen. Ron Johnson is calling for further action on partisanship within the FBI. “It’s time for Director Wray to acknowledge that the politicization of the FBI is ‘deeply troubling,’” Johnson told Fox News on Friday. “Unfortunately, that was evident during his tenure as manager and he did nothing about it.” Johnson was referring to the politicization surrounding the FBI’s investigation into whether President Trump’s first campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. “I guess better late than never,” Johnson said. “But I’m not holding my breath.” Johnson last week asked the Justice Department to launch an internal investigation or appoint a special counsel following the new whistleblower allegations and further argued that the FBI had been “weaponized” against sitting members of the Senate. Both Johnson and Grassley recounted events between July 2020 and October 2020 in which the FBI, including Thibault, FBI Supervisory Intelligence Analyst Brian Auten and Democratic senators, gave Republicans investigating Hunter’s allegations that they fell for information, falsely claiming that the GOP was moving forward. misinformation’ about Biden’s son. GOP senators claim that an August 6, 2020 meeting after the whistleblower was confirmed was expressly intended to “undermine” their investigation of Hunter Biden. “It’s time for Director Wray to acknowledge that the politicization of the FBI is ‘deeply troubling,’” Sen. Ron Johnson said on Fox News on Friday. “Unfortunately, that was evident during his tenure as manager and he did nothing about it.” (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) “If these recent whistleblower disclosures are true, they would strongly suggest that the FBI briefing on August 6, 2020 was indeed a targeted effort to deliberately undermine a congressional investigation,” Johnson wrote in a letter to Biden administration officials on last week. “Arming the FBI against two sitting chairmen of US Senate committees with constitutional oversight powers would be one of the greatest episodes of Executive Branch corruption in American history.” Johnson said that, for nearly two years, he “tried to get information from the FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) about the purpose and who ordered this briefing.” FLASHBACK: GOP-LED COMMITTEES PUBLISH INTERIM REPORT ON HUNTER BIDEN, BURISMA PROBE The August 6, 2020 briefing, according to sources familiar with the meeting, was unsolicited. It was provided by the FBI on behalf of the intelligence community and was “not specific” and “not connected” to the ongoing work of Johnson and Grassley. Johnson and Grassley were working at the time on a joint investigation into Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings and his “extensive and complex financial dealings.” At the time of the release of their investigation’s interim report in September 2020, Grassley and Johnson said their investigation “faced many obstacles” from Democrats and executive officials who “failed to comply with document requests.” Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson’s report also revealed that they obtained records from the US Treasury Department that “show possible criminal activity related to transactions between and among Hunter Biden, his family and associates with Ukrainians, Russians, Kazakhstanis and Chinese nationals”. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) The 87-page report said Obama administration officials “knew” Hunter Biden’s position on Burisma’s board was “problematic” and interfered “with the effective implementation of policy with respect to Ukraine.” Hunter Biden joined Burisma in April 2014 and, at the time, reportedly linked the company with consulting firm Blue Star Strategies to help the natural gas company fight corruption charges in Ukraine. During Biden’s time on the company’s board, Joe Biden was vice president and managed US-Ukraine relations and policy for the Obama administration. Grassley and Johnson’s report also revealed that they obtained records from the US Treasury Department that “show possible criminal activity related to transactions between and among Hunter Biden, his family and associates with Ukrainian, Russian, Kazakh and Chinese nationals ». HUNTER BIDEN UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION FOR ‘TAX AFFAIRS’ LINKS TO CHINESE FUNDS EMERGING, SOURCES SAY Grassley and Johnson said they received records that Hunter Biden “sent thousands of dollars” to people who “have either engaged in transactions consistent with possible human trafficking, a relationship with the adult entertainment industry, or a possible association with prostitution.” “Some of the recipients of these funds are Ukrainian or Russian citizens,” the report said, adding that “the records note that it is well established that Hunter Biden has sent funds to foreign women who are not residents of the United States and who are citizens of Russia and Ukrainian. and who have subsequently wired funds they have received from Hunter Biden to individuals located in Russia and Ukraine. The records also note that some of these transactions are linked to what “appears to be an Eastern European prostitution or human trafficking ring,” the report said. Hunter Biden has been under federal investigation since 2018, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Meanwhile, the report says Senate investigators found millions of dollars in “questionable financial transactions” between Hunter Biden and his associates and foreign individuals, including the wife of the former Moscow mayor as well as people with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Party. According to the report, an investment firm co-founded by Hunter Biden, Rosemont Seneca Thornton, “received $3.5 million in wire transfers” from Elena Baturina, the wife of the former mayor of the Russian capital. The report went even further and claimed that not only Hunter Biden but other members of the Biden family “participated in a vast financial network that connected them to foreign nationals and foreign governments around the world.” After the 2020 presidential election, Hunter Biden himself revealed that he was under federal investigation for his “tax affairs.” Hunter Biden was down federal investigation as of 2018, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News. Fox News has learned that the investigation has now reached a “critical stage” as officials consider whether to charge President Biden’s son with various tax violations, possible foreign lobbying violations and more. Vice President Joe Biden and his sons Hunter Biden, left, and Beau Biden walk in the Inaugural Parade on January 20, 2009, in Washington, DC (David McNew/Getty Images) A separate source told Fox News that the federal grand jury looking into Hunter Biden’s business dealings concluded its final term late last month, but said no charges have been filed. The survey is conducted by U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware, an attorney appointed by former President Donald Trump. HUNTER BIDEN ASKED FOR KEYS TO NEW ‘OFFICE EDITORS’ JOE BIDEN, CHINESE ‘APOSTLE’ TO CEFC PRESIDENT, EMAIL EVENT The source told Fox News on Wednesday that Weis and Justice Department officials are considering whether to charge Hunter Biden with various tax violations and, more seriously, with possible foreign lobbying violations. The source said Hunter Biden could face possible perjury charges. Fox News first reported in December 2020 that Hunter Biden was…
