As reported by RedState, Senator Chuck Grassley has made public the controversial FD-1023 form, which allegedly confirms that both Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, accepted bribes from Burisma’s founder, Mykola Zlochevsky.
The form includes an assertion that 17 audio recordings exist, two of which reportedly feature Joe Biden, discussing these arrangements. As elaborated by RedState Managing Editor Jennifer Van Laar, the document reveals that Vadim Pojarskii, the then CFO of Burisma, stated they had “hired” Hunter Biden to safeguard the company, via his father, from any potential issues.
The FD-1023 form also contains direct mentions of Joe Biden, with Zlochevsky quoted as saying, “Don’t worry Hunter will take care of all of those issues through his dad.” This was in response to concerns that an ongoing investigation into Burisma could impact the company’s IPO. The person leading this investigation was Viktor Shokin, who was later dismissed—a move Joe Biden publicly took credit for by stating he had withheld aid to Ukraine to ensure this outcome.
The level of corruption that this document seems to expose is staggering, arguably constituting the most significant political scandal in U.S. history. Yet, the FBI’s apparent efforts to cover up this matter make it even more alarming. The FBI not only failed to thoroughly investigate the information provided by the confidential human source, but it also seems to have made efforts to safeguard the Bidens subsequently.
An alternative look at the FD-1023 form reveals further concerning details. For instance, when Congress requested to view the document, one potentially embarrassing mention of Hunter Biden had been redacted by the FBI.
Multiple sections of the FD-1023 form were redacted by the FBI before being shown to Congress. Redactions are usually applied to protect sources and methods or to prevent the disclosure of national security information. However, it’s not clear what sources or methods were being protected by redacting comments about Hunter Biden’s intelligence or the references to the audio recordings and documents relating to the alleged bribes.
The most straightforward explanation is that these redactions were made to conceal evidence of Hunter Biden receiving large payments from Burisma without any legitimate reason. The unredacted FD-1023 form suggests that the Ukrainian oligarchs involved were using these payments to secure Joe Biden’s protection and to ensure Shokin’s dismissal. The fact that the FBI went to such lengths to conceal this information from Congress and the American public is highly telling.
As Jennifer Van Laar highlighted, FBI Director Christopher Wray even attempted to assert in May that the FD-1023 form didn’t exist. When it became apparent that GOP congressional members had evidence to the contrary, Wray allegedly over-redacted the form and tried to prevent Congress from accessing it, despite it not being classified. Only a subpoena led to the breakthrough we’re witnessing now.
It remains to be seen how the FBI will navigate this situation going forward, particularly as they previously claimed the FD-1023 form did not exist. There’s also the question of how this development will affect the bureau’s standing in the public eye. Wray, in particular, is in a difficult position, having to decide between continuing to shield the Bidens or restoring the FBI’s credibility among Americans.
