These claims are problematic for several reasons. First, Zlochevsky has explicitly denied that such a conversation ever occurred. In 2020, Politico asked Zlochevsky to detail any contacts he had with Joe Biden from 2013 to 2019. He
replied that, "No one from Burisma ever had any contacts with VP Biden or people working for him during Hunter Biden's engagement."
Second, several individuals, including
Shokin's former aide, said Shokin was not actually pursuing any Burisma investigation at the time of the alleged bribe. The Washington Post also
reported that the investigation was dormant:
As for the alleged tapes, no organization or agency has confirmed they exist. Speaking on Newsmax, Comer
said of the alleged tapes that, "We don't know if they're legit or not."
In sum, the FD-1023 form detailed by GOP investigators is unverified hearsay that rehashes old allegations that still make little to no sense when one considers that there was no investigation to halt with a bribe in the first place.