On June 12, 2023, lawmakers in the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate on several subjects. These included the extension of Section 702 under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Biden bribery form.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) grilled Abbate over the alleged abuses of Section 702.
Furthermore, they took Abbate to task for the FBI’s biased actions when it came to investigating former President Trump, as opposed to going after Joe Biden for the classified documents scandal.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) criticized Abbate over the Biden bribery form and blamed the FBI for covering up sensitive information. However, Abbate attempted to dodge questions by claiming he can’t comment on an ongoing FBI investigation.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) raised questions about the 17 recordings that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) exposed on the Senate floor, which were highlighted in the bribery form.
15 of the recordings featured the Burisma executive and Hunter Biden, while the other two featured the Burisma executive and Joe Biden.
Moreover, Grassley revealed the FBI redacted the information concerning the recordings involving the Bidens when they let the House Oversight Committee view the form.
Regardless, Grassley caught wind of the recordings. The confidential source stated the Burisma executive possessed a ledger and kept the recordings as an “insurance policy.”
Abbate conceded that the FBI redacted the information, thereby concealing unsavory details from the committee.
He asserted the information about the recordings was redacted to protect the confidentiality of the source. However, many conservative pundits believe this is a convenient maneuver to shield the Bidens from further congressional scrutiny.
This latest kerfuffle between Republicans and FBI officials is part of an emerging trend where Republicans are beginning to lose faith in the FBI’s ability to operate in an impartial manner.
As a result, Republican leaders have become more confrontational towards the FBI and willing to grill FBI functionaries whenever possible.