Global Courant
By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican head of a US House of Representatives panel said he will try to contempt FBI Director Christopher Wray in front of Congress over what he said was not handing over information about President Joe Biden’s family dealings used to be.
“We will now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings,” James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement on Twitter.
Comer said he took the action after a briefing from FBI officials.
“At the briefing, the FBI again refused to turn over the unclassified file to the House Oversight Committee,” Comer said.
He did not give more details about the record in question.
The FBI said in a statement to Reuters it had attempted to accommodate the committee’s request for information “including by producing the document in a Capitol reading room.
“This common sense safeguard is often used in response to congressional requests and in legal proceedings to protect important concerns, such as the physical safety of resources and the integrity of investigations,” it said.
“The escalation to a contemptuous mood under these circumstances is unwarranted.”
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh, Sarah N. Lynch and Richard Cowan in Washington, edited by Rosalba O’Brien)
