During a press conference on Thursday, President Joe Biden dismissed Republican claims that he was implicated in a bribery scheme as “malarkey.” This was his first public response to Rep. James Comer (R-KY), chair of the House Oversight Committee, who sought to release an FBI document containing unsubstantiated allegations based on second-hand information from an informant in Ukraine.
When a reporter asked for his reaction to Representative Nancy Mace’s statement, in which she claimed that the allegations were more severe than previously reported, the president replied with humor.
“Where’s the money? I’m joking. It’s a bunch of malarkey,” Biden said.
Q: "Bribery allegation — Congresswoman Nancy Mace says there's damning evidence in the FBI file that you sold out the country. Do you have a response to the congressional Republicans?
President Biden: "Where's the money? I'm joking. It's a bunch of malarkey." pic.twitter.com/Sx04YKdsA3
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 8, 2023
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House Republicans have seized upon the existence of FBI notes, referred to as an FD-1023 form, suggesting that they indicate foreign governments’ broader efforts to influence U.S. policy during Biden’s tenure as Vice President. However, the Justice Department, under then-Attorney General Bill Barr, investigated the allegations in 2020, found no evidence to support them, and closed the inquiry.
This information was relayed to Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the committee, who, along with Comer, was briefed by the FBI.
Recently, the FBI allowed lawmakers from both parties to read the FD-1023 form in a secure location on Capitol Hill. This concession came about only after Comer scheduled a vote to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt for not complying with a congressional subpoena to provide the document. The FBI’s reluctance to make the notes public stems from concerns about jeopardizing the safety of the human source who provided the information.
The allegations against Biden emerge as the Justice Department’s special counsel, Jack Smith, investigates former President Donald Trump for alleged mishandling of classified documents and obstruction of efforts by federal officials to recover them.
Trump is also under investigation for his involvement in attempting to overturn the 2020 election results and inciting the violent attack on the Capitol Building on January 6.
Moreover, in Georgia, an investigation is underway into Trump’s efforts to reverse his electoral loss in that state. Furthermore, Trump became the first former President to face criminal indictment when he was charged in Manhattan in April for hush-money payments to an adult film actress during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has referred to the investigations against him as “SCAMS & WITCH HUNTS” in a social media post on his platform, Truth Social.
