House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced Tuesday he will move forward with holding FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress.

The top GOP lawmaker announced in an afternoon statement that the bureau failed to comply with his subpoena requesting documentation believed to contain allegations of a criminal “bribery” scheme involving President Joe Biden.

“Today, the FBI informed the Committee that it will not provide the unclassified documents subpoenaed by the Committee,” Comer said. “The FBI’s decision to stiff-arm Congress and hide this information from the American people is obstructionist and unacceptable.”

Though Comer noted that he has a call with Wray scheduled for Wednesday, the chairman stressed the House Oversight Committee “has been clear in its intent to protect Congressional oversight authorities and will now be taking steps to hold the FBI Director in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a lawful subpoena.”

The chairman said whistleblower disclosures led him and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to believe the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI have an unclassified FD-1023 form describing the alleged scheme involving Biden, dating back to his time as vice president, and a foreign national. Comer initially sent the subpoena on May 3 with a May 10 deadline, but later extended it to Tuesday.

This particular FD-1023 form may reference some variant of “five million” and “June 30, 2020,” Comer wrote in a letter to Wray last week. “These terms relate to the date on the FD-1023 form and its reference to the amount of money the foreign national allegedly paid to receive the desired policy outcome,” he added.

The FBI responded to Comer in a letter, which was published by POLITICO, saying in part that officials at the bureau have “identified additional information that we are prepared to offer the Committee as an extraordinary accommodation.”

Wray “looks forward to discussing how we plan to make that information available to the Committee during your call tomorrow,” said acting Assistant Director for Congressional Affairs Christopher Dunham.

The FBI additionally provided a statement to The Daily Wire responding to Comer’s statement.

“The FBI remains committed to cooperating with the Committee in good faith. In a letter to Chairman Comer earlier today, the FBI committed to providing access to information responsive to the Committee’s subpoena in a format and setting that maintains confidentiality and protects important security interests and the integrity of FBI investigations,” the FBI said.

“Last week, Director Wray scheduled a telephone call for tomorrow to provide additional details of the FBI’s extraordinary accommodation to satisfy the subpoena request,” the FBI added. “Any discussion of escalation under these circumstances is unnecessary.”

Although Comer has not publicly identified a country linked to the matter, the date he divulged lands on the calendar about two weeks after Ukrainian officials announced there had been a $5 million bribe aimed at ending an investigation into the founder of Burisma Holdings, the same Ukrainian gas company at which Biden’s son, Hunter, served on the board for several years.

As congressional Republicans have raised concerns about members of the Biden family being involved in influence peddling schemes linked to countries around the world, Democrats have accused their GOP counterparts of ignoring alleged misconduct by former President Donald Trump while trying to dig up “dirt” on the Bidens.

The White House has also shot back at Republicans in Congress. “House Republicans have shown no evidence of any policy decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. national interests,” tweeted White House spokesperson Ian Sams earlier this month. “That’s because they can’t.”

The FBI says FD-1023 forms are filled out to record claims from confidential human sources. Even after McCarthy spoke over the phone with Wray earlier this month, lawmakers said the bureau resisted acknowledging the particular file they seek even exists. Publicly, the bureau has generally cautioned against disclosing unverified information from informants.

“The FBI remains committed to cooperating with Congress’s oversight requests on this matter and others as we always have, and we continue to be in touch with members of Congress regarding this request,” the FBI told The Daily Wire on Tuesday. “The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people. Releasing confidential source information could potentially jeopardize investigations and put lives at risk.”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) addressed confidentiality issues in a separate interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. “If there’s a concern about methods or areas of how we get it, redact names so we don’t see that. But you’ve got to show the document,” he said.

McCarthy also made it clear on Tuesday that he has Comer’s back in demanding the document and holding Wray in contempt. “Today is the deadline for him to act,” the speaker said.” If he does not act, he’s not above the law. He’s not above Congress. And we will hold him in contempt. Now I want to be very clear about that.”

If the House, which is narrowly controlled by Republicans, were to approve a criminal contempt referral to the DOJ, Wray could face a fine and up to a year’s imprisonment if federal prosecutors take up the case. There are also other forms of recourse, including civil enforcement, according to the American Bar Association. As Republicans become increasingly wary of the FBI, with suspicions fueled by the recently released report by special counsel John Durham, some lawmakers are also talking about defunding the agency.

“Americans deserve the truth, and the Oversight Committee will continue to demand transparency from this nation’s chief law enforcement agency,” Comer said in his statement on Tuesday.

Prince Wafa risked everything to help Americans fight the Taliban in his homeland of Afghanistan. But when the U.S. wouldn’t help him save his new bride following the military’s botched pullout nearly two years ago, he had to once again put his life on the line.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Wire, Wafa described how his journey began when he joined the U.S. military as an interpreter shortly after graduating high school in 2010. Serving until April 2014, Wafa then applied for a coveted Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) offered only to translators from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Native translators who served with an American military unit for 12 months and received a positive written recommendation from a commanding officer were eligible. The State Department, however, only grants 50 visas per year.

By August of 2021, that number would be far too low to accommodate the record number of requests. According to the Association of Wartime Allies (AWA), “81,000 SIV applicants in Afghanistan had visa applications pending as of August 15, 2021 (the day Kabul fell)…96% of the SIV applicants were left behind.”

Nevertheless, Wafa received his SIV and immigrated to the United States, starting a new life in San Diego. It wasn’t until 2019, after obtaining U.S. citizenship and becoming the owner of a 7-Eleven store in San Diego, that Wafa dared to return to Afghanistan to marry his wife.

The couple then began the complex process of applying for her visa so she could join him legally in the United States. When the visa application process stalled, Wafa faced unexpected hurdles.

Despite his pleas to the State Department to transfer his wife’s case to a safer location, like the United Arab Emirates, Wafa was met with indifference.

“[They told me] I cannot go to Afghanistan; it’s not safe for me,” Wafa implored the State Department, but his pleas were rejected. Fearing for his wife’s safety, Wafa decided the only course left to him was to take matters into his own hands.

Prince Wafa (far left), became a translator for the U.S. military shortly after graduating from high school. His efforts were rewarded with a U.S. visa. (Courtesy of Prince Wafa)

In late July 2021, as the Taliban’s increasing presence loomed over Afghanistan, Wafa reached out to the State Department once more, urging them to expedite his wife’s visa process. His appeals fell on deaf ears again, with officials stating they had no responsibility for her safety — despite all her documents confirming otherwise. Realizing the urgency of the situation, Wafa booked a flight to Dubai, intending to join his wife in Afghanistan. 

Yet, as Wafa told The Daily Wire, when he arrived he discovered all civilian flights to and from Kabul were suspended, leaving him stranded.

Undeterred, Wafa, who is now 31, was willing to venture into dangerous territory, even if by foot. Disguising himself as a local Afghan wearing traditional clothing, he crossed the border into Afghanistan hoping to avoid detection by the Taliban.

“I had my American passport in my backpack — it was like a death certificate for me at that time, to have such documentation showing my close collaboration and citizenship,” Wafa said. “I just hoped that the Taliban wouldn’t search me. They didn’t, however — I looked like them, and I showed them my Afghan passport and they allowed me to enter Afghanistan. My brothers were waiting for me at the other side of the border and as soon as I crossed, they picked me up and we rushed to Kabul.”

This high-stakes gamble allowed him to reunite with his family in Kabul just days before the city fell to Taliban control. Upon arriving in Afghanistan, Wafa witnessed the collapse of his country and the loss of all that he and his fellow Afghans had fought for.

“We were devastated as Biden pulled all American troops out while he claimed that the mission in Afghanistan was successful and accomplished — while so many US citizens, including myself, were still in the country, abandoned.”

Prince Wafa sneaked back into his homeland to retrieve his wife after the U.S. botched its withdrawal in 2021. (Courtesy of Prince Wafa)

The Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan is now considered one of the worst American wartime withdrawls in history. Thousands of Afghan nationals fled to the Kabul International Airport in a chaotic effort to flee the collapsing country. Many were pictured on the crowded tarmac, climbing planes, and in one instance falling off a plane as it took off. 13 U.S. service members were also killed in what some experts say was a preventable terrorist bombing at the airport that also took the lives of 170 civilians. In addition to the human toll, the Biden administration also left behind over $24 billion worth of military equipment for the Taliban to seize.

Despite his disappointment in the handling of the withdrawal, Wafa held on to hope, staying in contact with his military friends in an attempt to secure their rescue. Their efforts, however, proved unsuccessful, leaving Wafa and his family in a perilous situation.

It was during this time Wafa connected with Jason Jones, founder of the NGO Vulnerable Peoples Project (VPP), after being told of his work by an active duty officer who had seen the NGO highlighted on the Catholic media network, EWTN. Upon hearing Wafa’s story, Jones quickly mobilized support. With the assistance of Jones’ VPP and others, Wafa and his wife were eventually evacuated from Afghanistan. Their arrival in the United States marked the beginning of a new chapter, where Wafa has not only embraced his role as a new American citizen but also dedicated his efforts to aid others in need. Even as he continues to run his own business, Wafa has not ceased his involvement with VPP — continuing to direct ground operations and delivering over 3 million meals to vulnerable Afghan families, including widows and orphans of fallen allies.

“It has been a privilege to work on a daily basis with Prince Wafa,” Jones said. “Even before successfully evacuating from Afghanistan, he displayed incredible courage volunteering to recon routes to help VPP safely evacuate other Afghan SIVs. He refused our initial offer to evacuate him and his wife early on because he thought it was too expensive and had to hide another 90 days until a more cost-effective route opened up. The day after arriving in the United States, he called me and said, ‘Let’s use the money VPP saved on my evacuation to save people from starvation.’”

Reflecting on his journey and the sacrifices made, Wafa shared a profound view of marriage, often stigmatized when associated with Afghan culture.

“At the end, even though my journey to bring my wife home was full of challenges and very risky, I am not regretful for taking any of those risks to save my family. I would do it again and again if I have to. I believe we men sacrifice our lives for two things — country and family— and if I ever have to face risking mine again, I will do so proudly.”

To support “VPP’s Project Noble Brother” and their support of widows and orphans of our Afghan Allies, go to www.TheGreatCampaign.org.