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Floor Speech

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, last week, I came here to speak to my colleagues about the Biden administration and the FBI playing games with the American people by hiding the FBI-generated 1023 document from Congress and the American people. Director Wray was going to be held in contempt for refusing to produce the 1023 that I told Chairman Comer about, and I think I had that first conversation with Chairman Comer about 3 weeks ago. Then, instead of contempt, the FBI committed to showing the 1023 and related documents to the whole Congress.

By the way, I thank Chairman Comer for his cooperation with me and for how he has pursued this issue, because we know a heck of a lot more now than if he had not been involved in this whole effort.

So the FBI showed--after the FBI committed to showing this document-- but didn't provide possession of that 1023 to the House Oversight Committee last week.

By the way, 1023 is unclassified, so why shouldn't the entire country know about what is in this 1023? As the public knows, that 1023 involves an alleged bribery scheme between then-Vice President Biden, Hunter Biden, and a foreign national--the same allegations Chairman Comer and I made public on May 3 of this year.

On the very same day that the FBI provided a redacted version of the 1023 to the House Oversight Committee, the Justice Department then announced that former President Trump had been indicted and charged with 37 crimes relating to his alleged mishandling of classified records.

Attorney General Garland signed off on prosecuting Trump for conduct similar to what Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton engaged in. Two standards of justice in this country will turn our constitutional Republic upside down. Thanks to the political infection within the Biden Justice Department and the FBI, we are well along the road for that to happen.

This Senator will do all that he can to fight that political infection in the Department of Justice and the FBI. You fight it, then, by bringing transparency to what this government does. The public's business ought to be public. Transparency brings accountability.

With respect to the 1023 shown to the House Oversight Committee, from what I have been told by folks who have reviewed it, it is filled with redactions. The document that Comer and I read had maybe two or three half-inch redactions, not whole sentences redacted, as I am told the document in the SCIF has. So Director Wray placed redactions on a document that is already unclassified--as I have said before, unclassified. More than that, the FBI made Congress review a redacted, unclassified document in a classified facility. That goes to show you the disrespect the FBI has for Congress.

During a previous time on the Senate floor, I think I told my fellow Senators what was so unusual about an unclassified document being given to the public when--I think it was on May 18 of this year--there was leaked to the New York Times a classified document and even the name of a confidential human source. So we are kind of in a strange situation here when a classified document can be leaked to the New York Times, but an unclassified document cannot be made public to 300 million Americans if they are interested in reading it.

Accordingly, Congress still lacks a full and complete picture with respect to what that document really says. That is why it is important that the document be made public, without unnecessary redactions, for the American people to see. Can you believe redacting an unclassified document?

Now let me assist for the purposes of there being more transparency on this subject.

The 1023 produced to that House committee redacted the reference that the foreign national who allegedly bribed Joe and Hunter Biden allegedly has audio recordings of his conversation with them--17 such recordings. According to the 1023, the foreign national possesses 15 audio recordings of phone calls between him and Hunter Biden. According to the 1023, the foreign national possesses two audio recordings of phone calls between him and then-Vice President Joe Biden. These recordings were allegedly kept as a sort of insurance policy for the foreign national in case he got into a tight spot. The 1023 also indicates that then-Vice President Joe Biden may have been involved in Burisma's employing Hunter Biden.

So, as I have repeatedly asked since going public with the existence of the 1023, what, if anything, has the Justice Department and FBI done to investigate? The Justice Department and FBI must show their work. They no longer deserve the benefit of the doubt.

It is clear that the Justice Department and FBI will use every resource to investigate Candidate Trump, President Trump, and former President Trump. Based on the facts known to the Congress and the public, it is clear that the Justice Department and the 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 a 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 Justice Department and the FBI accountable. It is also important for asserting constitutional congressional oversight powers against an out- of-control executive branch that is obviously drunk with political infection.

Remember, Congress has received 1023s in the past, and they have been made public. So asking for this 1023 to be turned over to the American people to read is not an unusual thing that goes on with 1023s.

Congress owes it to the American people and the brave and heroic whistleblowers to continue to fight for transparency on this matter and make this document public without unnecessary redactions.

I want everybody to remember that I have read the unredacted version except for a couple or three half-inch redactions, I would say.

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