Are there any credible reports of Biden accepting bribes from foreign entities?
Executive summary
There are no credible, verified reports that President Joe Biden personally accepted bribes from foreign entities; the most prominent allegations have traced back to an FBI FD-1023 record and a single confidential source whose claims were later discredited by prosecutors [1] [2]. Congressional Republicans continue to press broader influence‑peddling claims about the Biden family and have released documents and timelines alleging millions flowed to family members and associates, but those committee materials and media reporting do not produce verified evidence that Joe Biden himself was paid or corruptly influenced [3] [4].
1. What the allegation was and where it originated
The headline allegation that then‑Vice President Biden demanded or received a $5 million bribe came from an unclassified FBI FD‑1023 record memorializing statements by a confidential human source about Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, and a purported claim by its owner Mykola Zlochevsky [1] [4]. That FD‑1023 was obtained and publicized by Republican senators and House investigators, who used it to press the Justice Department and the FBI for more information and to anchor broader Oversight Committee inquiries into the Biden family’s foreign business ties [1] [4].
2. What federal investigators found and subsequent criminal charges against the source
The FBI field office examined those claims and, according to charging documents and later reporting, recommended closing the matter in 2020 because it was unverified; in 2024–2024 the principal informant tied to the Burisma story was charged and then pleaded guilty to fabricating the bribery claim and lying to investigators — actions prosecutors said were motivated by bias and not corroborated by evidence [5] [6] [2] [7]. Major news organizations summarizing the Justice Department’s actions concluded that prosecutors found no evidence Joe Biden received bribes and that the informant’s story had been fabricated [2] [7].
3. What congressional investigations say, and their limits
Republican investigators led by Oversight Chair James Comer and Senator Chuck Grassley have produced reports, timelines, and subpoenas asserting that members of the Biden family and associates received more than $20 million from foreign sources and alleging influence‑peddling schemes [3] [8]. Those materials emphasize bank records, pseudonymous emails, and witness statements, but committee releases and their public statements do not show direct, verified payments to Joe Biden himself, and some independent summaries note investigators could not point to a specific policy decision tied to alleged payments [9] [10].
4. How mainstream reporting and fact‑checkers evaluate the evidence
Public‑facing reporting from outlets such as PBS and the BBC has framed the Burisma bribery story as unproven and substantially undercut by the informant’s prosecution for fabricating key allegations, with multiple summaries explicitly stating that no evidence has emerged that Joe Biden acted corruptly or accepted bribes [2] [7]. News outlets also reported that the FBI had earlier investigated then recommended closing the matter in 2020, which undercuts claims that verified incriminating evidence was being suppressed [5] [6].
5. Political context, incentives and unanswered questions
The allegation has been a political cudgel: Republicans have used the FD‑1023 and committee findings to justify oversight, impeachment inquiries, and criminal referrals, while defenders note the informant’s indictment and guilty plea, the FBI’s 2020 closure recommendation, and the absence of direct evidence implicating Joe Biden [4] [2] [6]. Reporting shows unresolved questions remain about amounts paid to associates versus Joe Biden personally and about how fully congressional document dumps corroborate causal wrongdoing; those gaps are factual — not a demonstration of bribery — and current public records do not close them in favor of a credible bribery finding [3] [9].