Kirby Dodges FBI Bribery-Record Question, Then: 'I'm Getting the Hook. See Ya' (May 4, 2023)

White House national security spokesman John Kirby had nothing to say about the biggest corruption allegation of the week. Asked about a House subpoena for an FBI record describing “an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national,” Kirby twice referred the question to the Justice Department and then headed for the exit. “And I’m getting the hook,” he said, to laughter. “See ya” [1].

The video above shows the May 4, 2023, exchange at the end of Kirby’s time at the White House briefing. Quotes are from the official White House transcript [1]. The subpoena had gone out the day before [2].

”I Have Nothing for You, Sir”

The question came as the last one of Kirby’s segment. “John, I’ve got a question about a House Oversight Committee subpoena that was issued yesterday,” the reporter said. “It’s seeking an FBI document from 2020 that, quote, ‘describes an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.’ What’s the White House’s response to this serious corruption allegation?” [1]

“I’m going to have to refer you to the Justice Department on that. I have nothing for you on that today,” Kirby said.

“Do you know what this is — what country this pertains to or what policy decision?”

“I have nothing for you, sir. I’m going to have to refer you to the Justice Department” [1].

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre moved straight on to Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young and the debt-limit fight [1].

The Subpoena

The day before, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, went public with what a whistleblower had told Grassley’s office. They said the FBI held an unclassified FD-1023 form, the bureau’s record of what a confidential source told it, that allegedly described a bribery arrangement involving then-Vice President Biden [2][6].

“The information provided by a whistleblower raises concerns that then-Vice President Biden allegedly engaged in a bribery scheme with a foreign national,” Comer said. “The American people need to know if President Biden sold out the United States of America to make money for himself” [2].

“We believe the FBI possesses an unclassified internal document that includes very serious and detailed allegations implicating the current President of the United States,” Grassley said. “What we don’t know is what, if anything, the FBI has done to verify these claims or investigate further” [2].

The subpoena demanded all FD-1023 forms containing the word “Biden” [2].

The FBI Stalls

That week: On Fox News’ “Hannity,” Comer said of the whistleblower’s disclosure: “Senator Grassley and I have reviewed this whistleblower disclosure. We find it very credible” [3].
May 10: The FBI missed the subpoena deadline. “It’s clear from the FBI’s response that the unclassified record the Oversight Committee subpoenaed exists, but they are refusing to provide it to the Committee,” Comer said. “The FBI’s position is ‘trust, but you aren’t allowed to verify.’” Grassley added that the bureau’s offer of an accommodation process “indicates the document is real” [4].
May 24: Comer threatened to start contempt of Congress proceedings if FBI Director Christopher Wray kept defying the subpoena [5].
June 2023: After the FBI let lawmakers see it, Comer described the June 30, 2020, form as memorializing a confidential source’s conversations with a Burisma executive “who claimed to have bribed then-Vice President Joe Biden for $5 million.” He said the form did not originate with Rudy Giuliani and had been forwarded to the U.S. attorney in Delaware [6]. Days later, the FBI showed the committee two related forms that Comer said were heavily redacted [7].

The form came up again at a Senate hearing that June, when Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., pressed FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate about it.

The Informant’s Story Falls Apart

The source turned out to be the problem. On Feb. 15, 2024, special counsel David Weiss charged Alexander Smirnov, an FBI informant since 2010, with lying. The indictment said Smirnov “provided false derogatory information to the FBI” about both Bidens, including a claim that Burisma officials had told him they paid Hunter Biden and Joe Biden $5 million, NBC News reported [8].

“This is just another instance of Chairman [James] Comer and [Rep. Jim] Jordan peddling falsehoods based on dishonest, uncredible allegations and witnesses,” Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement [8].

Smirnov pleaded guilty to tax evasion and lying to the FBI and was sentenced to six years in prison in January 2025, the AP reported [9].

”I Don’t Have Good Answer for You”

A reporter asked about the dollar. “Japan holds $1.2 trillion, the largest U.S. debt. And there’s — a growing number of countries seem to be moving away from the use of the dollar. Is there an understanding of this — of a concern for that, as the world reserve currency is really a big part of why the U.S. is able to exert its leadership?” [1]

“Well, I’d have to let Japan speak to their economic policy,” Kirby said. Pressed, he answered: “I’m going to have to take your question, sir. I don’t have good answer for you.” [1]

Kirby also took questions on the 1,500 troops being sent to the southern border. “But — but don’t think about this extra 1,500 troops as some sort of thing we’re looking for reciprocal behavior,” he said. “These — these — these troops are not going to can- — participate in law enforcement activities.” [1]

“We’re Going to Leave It to the Senate”

Later, Jean-Pierre was asked about the Supreme Court. “Does the President believe that there should be a code of conduct for the Supreme Court?” a reporter asked [1].

“So I know I’ve been asked about ethics and this question many times before. The Senate is currently moving forward with a process. We’re going to leave it to the Senate for now,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

The reporter pointed to Biden’s own panel. “But his own commission on the Supreme Court, which he established, issued a report in 2021 — that said, ‘A code of conduct for the court would bring the court into line with the lower federal courts,’ et cetera. Did the President read that report?” [1]

“The President has — has seen the report. He — we have said many times before he appreciated the bipartisan commission that came together and put the report together,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

“And finally, on this topic, you have said from the podium that you’re not going to comment on any stories having to do with Justice Thomas and his own code of conduct. Why not?” the reporter asked. “I’m just going to leave it there for now,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

By the Numbers

2: times Kirby referred the question to the Justice Department before leaving [1].
June 30, 2020: the date of the FD-1023 form at the center of the subpoena [7].
$5 million: the alleged bribe described in the informant’s claims [6][8].
2010: the year Smirnov began working as an FBI confidential source, according to the indictment [8].
6 years: Smirnov’s prison sentence [9].

What Happened Next

The investigation moved on without it. House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry kept going, and the committees’ August 2024 report built its case on bank records and witness interviews, such as testimony about then-Vice President Biden’s dinners with his son’s foreign business partners [10], while the informant at the center of the bribery claim went to prison [9]. HYGO News follows that arc, from Biden’s “lots of luck” to the pardon of his son, in its page on the House GOP probes.