Republican Admits Key 'Informant' Against Joe Biden Now Missing

Representative James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, admitted on Sunday that his fellow Republicans lost track of a key witness in an investigation about the Biden family being involved in an alleged bribery scheme.

On Wednesday, House Oversight Committee Republicans released a 36-page memo accusing members of the Biden family of earning millions of dollars during Joe Biden's term as vice president under former President Barack Obama from a number of Chinese and Romanian companies they claim posed "potential threats" to the United States.

The memo, a copy of which was obtained by Newsweek, includes redacted images of transactions involving a number of bank accounts purportedly belonging to members of the Biden family. It outlines a network of secretive bank accounts connected not only to Biden's son, Hunter, but to a number of other family members, all of whom Comer, the committee's chairman, accused of using Biden's position to curry favor with foreign governments and peddle influence on U.S. foreign policy.

The documents released Wednesday provide no evidence that President Biden was ever directly involved in the alleged schemes—or even if the payments in question resulted in tangible impact on U.S. policy.

Representative James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, is seen on February 8 in Washington, D.C. Comer admitted on Sunday that his fellow Republicans lost track of a key witness in the Biden family investigation into an alleged bribery scheme. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Comer tried to get records from the FBI that he said he believes could reveal whether President Biden allegedly received bribes from the foreign companies, basing his allegation on information he received from an anonymous whistleblower. Comer added that he believes the FBI document could support the accusation, even though it might be hard to obtain. However, Comer can instead try to convince the whistleblower to testify before Congress.

The Kentucky Republican and Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, wrote in a letter sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland earlier this month that they received "legally protected and highly credible unclassified" information from the whistleblower. They also wrote that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI would have enough information to determine the accuracy and the credibility of the information in the document.

Meanwhile, Fox News host Maria Bartiromo asked Comer during an interview on Sunday Morning Futures about the current whereabouts of the informant.

"Well, unfortunately, we can't track down the informant," Comer responded on Sunday. "We're hopeful that the informant is still there. The whistleblower knows the informant. The whistleblower is very credible."

Comer also criticized the FBI's efforts to investigate the allegation, before Bartiromo asked him again about the informant, "Did you just say that the whistleblower or the informant is now missing?"

"Well, we're hopeful that we can find the informant," Comer responded, adding that the informant was in the "spy business" and therefore "they don't make a habit of being seen a lot."

He continued: "The nine of the 10 people that we've identified have very good knowledge with respect to the Bidens. They're one of three things, Maria, they're either currently in court, they're currently in jail, or they're currently missing. So it's of the utmost importance that the FBI work with us to be able to try to identify what research they've done, what investigations they've done, because we have people that want to come forward, but honestly, they fear for their lives."

The White House denied the accusation, with Ian Sams, the White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, tweeting earlier this month, "Innuendo and insinuation masquerading as investigation."

Headline of Grassley press release: "Grassley, Comer Demand FBI Record Alleging Criminal Scheme Involving Then-VP Biden"

Grassley a few hours later to Fox: "I can't verify whether or not it's really criminal activity."

Innuendo and insinuation masquerading as investigation https://t.co/zbkdwXmBe8 — Ian Sams (@IanSams46) May 3, 2023

In another tweet, Sams wrote: "For going on 5 years now, Republicans in Congress have been lobbing unfounded politically-motivated attacks against @POTUS without offering evidence for their claims. Or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. interests. They prefer trafficking in innuendo."

For going on 5 years now, Republicans in Congress have been lobbing unfounded politically-motivated attacks against @POTUS without offering evidence for their claims. Or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. interests.

They prefer trafficking in innuendo. https://t.co/ZjV46xvjit — Ian Sams (@IanSams46) May 3, 2023

Comer explained on Sunday that the committee has "basic" information of what the informant alleged, but that it is a "very serious accusation." The Kentucky Republican added that the FBI has to look into the allegation and whether the informant is credible, claiming that the agency "won't answer our question."

Newsweek reached out by email to Austin Hacker, the deputy communications director for the House Oversight Committee and the communications director for Comer, for comment.