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An Instagram video alleged that FBI Director Christopher Wray seemingly admitted by accident that President Joe Biden is under criminal investigation in Delaware. The post tied it to unsubstantiated bribery allegations made against the president and his son by a Ukrainian.
"BREAKING: FBI director Wray confirms Joe Biden is under criminal investigation for Ukrainian bribes by the U.S. attorney in Delaware then tries to backpedal after realizing what he disclosed. How is this not front-page news?" read text atop a on Instagram.
The video is of Wray, whose eyes appeared to be altered, testifying July 12 before the House Judiciary Committee. It shows the FBI director responding to a question from Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., about Joe Biden and whether Biden took payments from Burisma or other foreign companies.
It would likely be front-page news if Wray had said the president was under investigation. But a closer look at the exchange shows that鈥檚 not what he said.
Here鈥檚 the exchange between Tiffany and Wray in the :
Tiffany: Did Joe Biden take payments from Burisma or any other foreign companies as vice president, president or private citizen Biden?
Wray: As you may know, there is an ongoing investigation being led by the U.S. attorney in Delaware, Mr. (David) Weiss, appointed by President (Donald) Trump in the last administration that our Baltimore field office is working with, and I would refer you to him as to what, if anything can be said.
Tiffany: So the president is under 鈥� he is under investigation?
Wray: I鈥檓 not going to confirm or speak to who is or isn鈥檛 under investigation for what. I鈥檓 simply going to tell you. 鈥�
Tiffany: So, he鈥檚 not under investigation?
Wray: I didn鈥檛 say that, either. By long-standing department policy and practice, I鈥檓 not going to be confirming or denying who is or isn鈥檛 under investigation or for what.
What's the ongoing investigation?
David Weiss, the U.S. district attorney in Delaware, has been overseeing a criminal investigation of Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden鈥檚 son, since 2018. That inquiry resulted in in which Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of failing to pay $100,000 in taxes in 2017 and again in 2018. It also included a pre-trial diversion agreement on a separate gun charge of possessing a firearm as a drug user.
The plea deal was by a judge in a July 26 hearing after she raised questions about its terms. Hunter Biden then pleaded not guilty, and the two sides were given 30 days from the hearing to revisit the arrangement.
Even if the plea agreement had been approved, that wouldn鈥檛 mean Weiss鈥� investigation into Hunter Biden was over. A from Weiss鈥� office, when the plea deal was announced, also said the "investigation is ongoing."
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When Judge Maryellen Noreika asked Leo Wise, one of the case鈥檚 prosecutors, whether there was an "ongoing investigation," he replied, "There is," according to a hearing Politico obtained, about the hearing.
Wise provided no details about the investigation. It鈥檚 unclear what remains under investigation, but neither the court transcript nor the news coverage about the hearing mentions Joe Biden or payments and bribes from Ukraine.
Congressional Republicans, with multiple investigations into Hunter Biden, have long tried without success to tie the president to his son鈥檚 business dealings, including an unsubstantiated bribery allegation.
Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter Biden, to the House Oversight Committee and said Joe Biden was put on speakerphone by his son about 20 times over a 10-year period while Hunter Biden was with business partners. He also said that Joe Biden met twice over dinner with Hunter and his business partners. Archer said he never heard the president discuss his son鈥檚 business in any of the calls or dinners.
Archer also rebutted an that Joe and Hunter Biden were each paid $5 million bribes from a Burisma executive while Hunter Biden sat on the Ukrainian energy company鈥檚 board.
The allegation was made in a 2020 FD-1023 form, which FBI agents use to record unverified reporting from confidential human sources. An informant said that Mykola Zlochevsky, a Burisma executive who was under investigation for money laundering and tax evasion, paid a $5 million bribe each to Joe and Hunter Biden to remove Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin and end the investigation. That form was Sept. 23, 2020, by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa and Ron Johnson, R-Wis.
Christopher Dunham, an FBI official, told House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., in a that an allegation recorded in a 1023 form does not mean it has been verified.
"Recording the information does not validate the information, establish its credibility, or weigh it against other information known or developed by the FBI," he wrote. "The mere existence of such a document would establish little beyond the fact that a confidential human source provided information and the FBI recorded it."
The FBI hasn鈥檛 commented publicly on whether it is still investigating the bribe allegation, but several national news reports have said the matter was to be and closed. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in a that the FBI said in a closed-door meeting that the matter was closed by the Justice Department under former President Donald Trump, although former Attorney General William Barr that account.
Our ruling
An Instagram post claimed that Wray confirmed that President Joe Biden was under criminal investigation for taking Ukrainian bribes.
Wray did not confirm that. He referred a legislator who asked about foreign payments to the U.S. district attorney in Delaware, where he said there is a continuing investigation. He didn鈥檛 say who was being investigated. The U.S. district attorney鈥檚 office in Delaware has been investigating Hunter Biden鈥檚 tax dealings since 2018. There has been no public indication that Joe Biden is also being investigated.
After a follow-up question, Wray said as part of a long-standing agency practice, he would neither confirm nor deny who is under investigation or for what. We rate the claim False.
Our Sources
- Instagram post, Aug. 3, 2023 (, )
- House Judiciary Committee, , July 12, 2023
- United States Attorney鈥檚 Office, District of Delaware, , June 20, 2023
- United States Attorney鈥檚 Office, District of Delaware, , June 20, 2023
- Politico, , July 26, 2023
- Christopher Dunham, FBI acting Assistant Director Office of Congressional Affairs , May 10, 2023
- PolitiFact, , June 16, 2023
- PolitiFact, , Aug. 4, 2023
- The Associated Press, , July 26, 2023
- Washington Post, , June 5, 2023
- Washington Post, , July 26, 2023
- The New York Times, , June 5, 2023
- The New York Times, , July 26, 2023
- House Oversight Committee Democrats, , June 7, 2023
- Politico, , June 9, 2023
