The only "real option" Congress might have to end the standoff between House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer and FBI Director Christopher Wray over a document that purportedly connects President Joe Biden to a $5 million bribery scheme is for Wray to be charged with contempt, former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said Wednesday on Newsmax.
"When I was at the Department of Justice, there were a lot of documents that were requested," Whitaker told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "We went through a whole process of accommodation, trying to get Congress what they wanted and respecting the separation of powers."
But with Wray and the FBI "stonewalling," that might mean Comer, R-Ky., will have to follow through with a threat to hold Wray in contempt, said Whitaker.
"If the full House votes to hold him in contempt, that's a big deal," said Whitaker. "Then, whether the Department of Justice decides to prosecute him like they did so many other people who had connections with the Trump campaign, like Steve Bannon or [Peter] Navarro, this is going to be a real interesting standoff between two branches of government."
There are ways Congress could learn what is in the document, so even if the FBI doesn't want to turn over the raw data, the two sides could work things out, said Whitaker.
But the FBI's refusal to allow any information could point to "how explosive" the material is "and how poorly maybe the FBI handled the report and when they first received it," he added.
However, when asked if Wray, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, is holding back on the document to protect Biden and keep his job, Whitaker said the situation is "more nuanced" than that.
"I think what it's about is the FBI trying not to look bad," Whitaker said. "This is one of the problems with documents, whether they're classified or not, especially in the executive branch, is oftentimes ... they're embarrassing. They're not necessarily going to compromise our sources and methods of collecting information, but sometimes it's just too embarrassing for the information to get out, and I think that's what the problem is here."
Whitaker said that to hold Wray in contempt, the matter first must be voted out of the Oversight Committee and then go to the full House floor for a vote.
"There are two ways to enforce it," he said. "There is a jail in Congress [and] they could send the sergeant of arms to get Chris Wray. That hasn't happened in a long, long time."
Typically, however, such matters would be referred to in the Justice Department, said Whitaker, but that doesn't mean Wray would be prosecuted.
"The Department of Justice, for example, didn't prosecute Eric Holder when he was held in contempt for 'Fast and Furious,' but they did prosecute Bannon and Navarro," he said. "There's a split, typically, and, unfortunately, it's often on partisan lines and on who's holding Congress and what parties are holding the executive branch."
Whitaker said he thinks that means the FBI will try to find a way to get enough information in the document to Congress.
"They're still obviously negotiating this phone call," he said. "So maybe we're on the edge of a cliff. We'll see if everybody decides to drive over or not."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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