(CNN) Two Republican committee chairs are demanding the Central Intelligence Agency release a series of documents from an investigation related to the president’s son, Hunter Biden.
In a letter to CIA Director William Burns on Tuesday, Reps. Jim Jordan and Mike Turner, chairs of the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, called on the agency to file documents related to its investigation into a 2020 public statement by former intelligence agencies Officials questioning if a laptop containing Hunter Biden emails and documents was part of a Russian disinformation operation.
Jordan and Turner wrote that if the CIA fails to comply by May 30, “the committees may resort to coercive proceedings.”
Her latest letter comes after House Justice Republicans released a new, 65-page interim report last week alleging that one of the letter’s signatories told committee investigators that a CIA official asked him if he want to join the initiative.
Republicans in the House of Representatives argue that the finding, if true, “raises fundamental concerns about the CIA’s role in falsely discrediting allegations about the Biden family in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election.”
When asked about the allegation in the report, a CIA spokesman previously told CNN that “the role of the CIA’s Pre-Publication Review Board (PCRB) is to review materials submitted by current and former officials to determine whether the Materials Contain Confidential Information.”
The October 2020 letter, which is serving as the basis for the House Republican investigation, said the emergence of Hunter Biden’s laptop story on the political stage had “all the classic hallmarks of a Russian information operation.”
Although the former officials conceded in their public letter that they had “no evidence of Russian involvement,” Republicans argued that the letter helped discredit the laptop story just before the election in support of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
Jordan and Turner wrote that the documents they requested were essential to their investigation and outlined a number of possible legislative reforms that the committees might propose as a result of their investigation.
These potential actions include restrictions on how federal employees with security clearances can use their clearances or access classified information after they leave government. Chairmen said they may also consider proposing legislation that would prevent U.S. intelligence agencies “from engaging in, coordinating, or promoting political activity related to federal elections, including candidates for federal office, as well as from strengthening or modifying it.” of the Hatch Act”.
“The information we are requesting regarding the CIA’s involvement in the public statement is necessary to provide information on this possible legislation,” the Chairs wrote.
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