FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate stonewalled Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) during Tuesday’s Judiciary Committee hearing about if the bureau possesses the alleged 17 recordings between a Burisma Holdings executive and President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
On Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) revealed the Burisma executive who allegedly paid Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden $5 million each kept 17 audio recordings of his conversations of them as an “insurance policy.”
“Do you have the 17 recordings? Yes or no?” Cruz drilled Abbate.
“I’m not going to get further into that,” he replied after admitting the FBI possesses a form that alleges the 17 recordings.
“That’s the problem the FBI has right now, an unlimited hubris that you believe you are unaccountable,” Cruz slammed the FBI agent. “You don’t believe you’re accountable to the United States Congress, and you don’t believe you’re accountable to the American people.”
“You’re sitting there happily erecting a wall to protect Joe Biden,” he added.
Cruz again pressed Abbate to disclose the alleged audio recordings. “Will you provide the 17 recordings so we can assess what is the evidence, the specific credible evidence, that Joe Biden personally took a $5 million bribe from a foreign national?”
“Senator, we will work with this committee, you, and other members to provide the information within the parameters of the process,” Abbate said, providing an indefinite answer.
Cruz also noted that if Joe Biden wanted to disprove the allegations, he could call for the release of the unclassified FBI informant form.
“And to be clear, if the allegations are false, you know who could disprove them?” Cruz rhetorically asked. “Joe Biden.”
“He could call for this to be released publicly. But the FBI is stonewalling. Would you agree?” Cruz questioned.
“Senator, no one’s stonewalling,” Abbate claimed.
The FBI’s refusal to be forthcoming about the alleged “bribery” scheme comes as Republican lawmakers demanded transparency from Joe Biden regarding his 2017 tax returns in which his entity, “CelticCapri Corp,” listed nearly $10 million without specifying revenue line items.