Former Trump-era acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said on Monday that revelations from Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) that a Burisma executive made audio recordings of his conversations with Hunter Biden and then-Vice President Joe Biden as an “insurance policy” could prove to be catastrophic for the current president.
Grassley’s revelations, made Monday on the Senate floor, come as House Republicans claimed to have whistleblower evidence indicated the same Ukrainian official bribed the current president with a $5 million payment in order to influence U.S. policy in the country during the Obama administration, when Joe Biden was serving as point man for the White House.
“This is explosive. There’s so many issues surrounding this, but remember what my home state senator, Chuck Grassley, said. This was redacted from the document they looked at, the 1023 that Chris Wray finally provided to the House and the Senate,” Whittaker told Fox News.
“This information, that there were recordings of the president of United States talking to a foreign national about bribes, was redacted from that 1023. That’s extraordinary in and of itself. Now, the contents, if true, I mean, obviously, this is a cataclysmic event because you just don’t have these types of recordings usually available. And… it will prove essentially what Joe Biden knew and what his scheme was to abuse his power as vice president,” he added.
Grassley stated that the Burisma executive accused of making payments to Joe Biden and Hunter Biden possessed 17 audio recordings of his discussions with them. He referenced the FBI FD-1023 form, which was shared with congressional lawmakers during a briefing by the bureau.
Grassley disclosed a redacted mention from the FD-1023 form on the Senate floor, suggesting the existence of a criminal bribery scheme involving the then-VP and a foreign national who attempted to influence U.S. policy decisions.
Exclusive reporting from Fox News Digital last week revealed the details of the FD-1023 form. Dated June 30, 2020, the form represents an FBI interview conducted with a “highly credible” confidential source.
The source provided extensive information about numerous meetings and conversations held with a senior Burisma executive spanning several years, commencing in 2015.
While Fox News Digital has not directly reviewed the redacted form, multiple sources familiar with its contents have provided descriptions, the outlet reported.
