Republicans abruptly drop plans to level contempt charges against FBI chief Christopher Wray

Deal by FBI to break stand off with Republicans made in ‘spirit of good faith’

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) speaks to reporters after attending an FBI briefing in the House Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) (Getty Images)

Republicans in the US House of Representatives have abandoned plans to hold FBI director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress.

The decision was made after the agency “caved” in to allow the release of documents involving Joe Biden’s potential wrongdoing in a bribery case.

The abrupt pause on the Republican push to vote against Mr Wray comes as the FBI agreed to allow all committee members to review the documents in person, ending the standoff between the two parties.

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee was set to convene to vote on Thursday for holding Mr Wray in contempt for refusing to provide access to unclassified documents.

“The FBI has caved and is now allowing all members of the Oversight and Accountability Committee to review this unclassified record,” committee chairman James Comer said after scrapping the meeting for voting.

“Americans have lost trust in the FBI’s ability to enforce the law impartially and demand answers, transparency, and accountability,” the statement added.

“Allowing all Oversight Committee members to review this record is an important step toward conducting oversight of the FBI and holding it accountable to the American people.”

The documents at the centre of the dispute describe “an alleged criminal scheme” involving president Biden and a foreign national “relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions” when he was vice president, according to the committee members seeking documents.

The White House has denied the allegations, saying Mr Biden has not committed any wrongdoing and accused Mr Comer of spreading “thin innuendo to try to damage the president politically”.

Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the panel, and Mr Comer, will be able to review two additional documents.

Mr Comer had subpoenaed Mr Wray on 3 May and to comply with it, FBI officials came to the Capitol on Monday to brief the Kentucky Republican and Mr Raskin.

The briefing, which the bureau described as an “extraordinary accommodation”, lasted more than an hour and was conducted privately in a secure space because FBI officials said the form that consists of several pages contains sensitive information.

Mr Raskin and Mr Comer received a slightly redacted copy of the document, known as an FD-1023 form, during the briefing and were allowed to take notes on the substance of the form, though they weren’t allowed to keep it.

Responding to the development, Mr Raskin said the deal was made in “the spirit of good faith” but expressed concerns on events leading up to the agreement.

“Holding someone in contempt of Congress is among the most serious actions our Committee can take and it should not be weaponized to undermine the FBI,” Mr Raskin said.

Mr Comer had been pushing the FBI to comply with the subpoena by providing an unredacted copy of the document.

The bureau had denied access to unredacted information, calling it a grave risk to confidential human sources and the law enforcement process.