Burisma Exec in Alleged Biden Bribe Has Audio Recordings, Grassley Claims

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) claimed the FBI FD-1023 document containing an allegation that President Joe Biden accepted a $5 million bribe from a Burisma executive also alleges the executive is in possession of audio recordings of both Joe and Hunter Biden that they kept for “insurance.” 

Key Quotes: “According to the [FD-1023 document], the foreign national possesses 15 audio recordings of phone calls between him and Hunter Biden,” Grassley said. “According to the [FD-1023 document], the foreign national possesses two audio recordings of phone calls between him and then-Vice President Joe Biden. These recordings were allegedly kept as a sort of insurance policy for the foreign national in case he got into a tight spot. The 1023 also indicates that then-Vice President Joe Biden may have been involved in Burisma employing Hunter Biden.”

For Context: The FBI stated that FD-1023 documents record unverified claims. Under pressure from the House Oversight Committee, which learned of the document’s existence from a whistleblower, the FBI allowed committee members to view the document, but the mention of the audio recordings was redacted from the version shown to committee members. The allegation was initially made in 2020. Then-Attorney General William Barr declined to pursue an investigation. 

How The Media Covered It: Following the trend with this ongoing story, right-rated outlets are covering it extensively while left-rated outlets all but ignore it, with a Washington Post (Lean Left bias) analysis dismissing the story, stating Republican politicians are “running far ahead of their extremely limited evidence.”