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“Justice Department and FBI (Executive Session)” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the in the Senate section section on pages S1526-S1527 on May 4.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
Justice Department and FBI
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, in the past several years, I have come to this Senate Chamber to discuss my constitutional oversight of the Justice Department and the FBI. In many of those floor speeches, I have discussed legally protected and unclassified whistleblower disclosures that were made to my office relating to the Hunter Biden criminal investigation.
These disclosures were made public in the interest of transparency and accountability because the public's business should be public, and we should know, as Senators or Congressmen and Congresswomen, whether the executive branch of government is faithfully executing the laws as the Constitution requires.
Those disclosures that I have made have a very common theme: The Justice Department and FBI have allowed political infection to take root within each Agency's decision-making process. Such an infection is an existential threat to any government Agency, but to a law enforcement Agency that can interfere with our constitutional rights, such an infection is catastrophic.
After Crossfire Hurricane, which was the definition of a political investigation, the whistleblower disclosures demanded congressional attention more than ever. So I wrote public letters asking questions. I directly asked the same to the Attorney General and the FBI Director at committee hearings. I have asked them about allegations that politics infected the Hunter Biden investigation. This sort of political bias erodes trust in government and prevents the equal application of the law as required by the Constitution.
I have also asked them about allegations that the FBI used false claims of Russian disinformation to bury potential criminal investigations about Hunter and James Biden. Also, I asked them about allegations regarding specific records within the Department's possession relating to potential criminal conduct by the Bidens. I have asked about allegations regarding specific records that show Joe Biden may have been involved in Hunter Biden's business arrangements.
The allegations my office has received are very precise, very direct, and very consistent. Accordingly, they are highly credible. These credible allegations raise important and fundamental questions, like these questions:
Did the FBI follow normal investigative procedures to vet these claims?
Did the FBI follow the facts wherever they led, or did they improperly shut down credible leads in advance of the 2020 election?
Remember, I have been raising these questions for a long period of time. I have done it through many venues: letters, in hearings, in private calls with Agency leadership, and, like today, right here on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation had plenty of opportunities to respond to all of these questions I have raised. Not once--let me emphasize: not once has the Justice Department or FBI ever substantively disputed the whistleblower allegations that I have made public. I have given Attorney General Garland and Director Wray every opportunity to put our worst fears to rest and assure the American people, as they should, that everything has been done by the book. Both Agencies have failed to do so.
Just think how simple it is to say that everything was done the right way--if they could say that. And that ought to tell you something. Even with their credibility on the line, the FBI and Justice Department have refused to cooperate when asked for basic information. So, as you know if you have been following all this stuff--and I don't expect people to have time to do that--yesterday, House Chairman Comer issued a letter accompanied by a subpoena from the House committee demanding one FBI document. Based on protected and highly credible whistleblower disclosures, the unclassified document exists, and it is allegedly referencing a criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden.
Notably, it is a crime to provide false information to Congress during a congressional investigation.
Most importantly, this very document was generated by the FBI themselves. It is time for the Justice Department and FBI to come clean to the American people. What did the Justice Department and FBI do to investigate the information in the document at issue? The answer goes to the heart of whether taxpayer-funded government Agencies proceed normally or whether that Agency cuts corners.
Simply put, did the Justice Department and the FBI treat this information like they would if ``We the People'' were implicated, or did they sweep it under the rug to protect then-candidate Biden and now-President Biden?
If the Justice Department and FBI have any hope of redeeming their once trusted position--and that is what the American people have long held, to trust the FBI--Attorney General Garland and Director Wray must answer. Their credibility is on the line.
I yield the floor.