All this month, the Congressional Integrity Project is introducing one of Donald Trump’s staunchest MAGA allies – Representative James Comer. Just last month, the American people rejected the extreme MAGA agenda and said they want our leaders to focus on solving the real problems they face. But MAGA Republicans aren’t listening. As soon as they won the House, they immediately turned to the Trump playbook of political attacks, stunts, and partisan warfare. Investigations under the new Republican-led committees will be conducted following the Trump playbook: divisive and politically motivated attacks on President Biden, his family, and his administration at any cost, all to increase Comer’s own power to pursue the radical agenda of his MAGA allies.
Comer and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform are committed to investigating President Biden and his family, but where was Comer during the Trump administration? At every turn, Comer looked the other way when corruption took place from inside the White House. Comer and House Republicans opposed issuing subpoenas, obtaining documents, and trying to get testimony to conduct legitimate oversight of Trump and his family’s corruption. Where were Comer and House Republicans when White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner met privately with bank and private equity executives who his business sought loans from and also received Saudi and Qatari investments in his family business?
- GQ: How Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump Have Profited Off Their Dad’s Presidency. “In April 2017, a real estate firm tied to the Kushner family made a direct appeal to the government of Qatar to invest…A month later, when a coalition of Persian Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates organized a blockade of Qatar, Kushner was among its most vocal U.S. supporters.” […] In the months that followed, Kushner developed a close working relationship with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman—close enough that bin Salman allegedly told confidants that the president’s son-in-law was ‘in his pocket.’ Fortunately, help for the Kushner family’s financial woes subsequently arrived in the form of Brookfield Asset Management, which acquired a 99-year lease on 666 Fifth Avenue for about $1 billion in April 2018. This miraculous timing allowed the Kushners to pay off its existing mortgage and buy out its partner in the venture, Vornado Realty Trust. The buyer was [funded by] the government of Qatar.” [GQ, 10/14/19, 3/22/18; Wall Street Journal, 8/3/18]
- Los Angeles Times: Trump’s Children Take In Millions Overseas As President Slams Biden’s Son. “Time and again, Trump’s children have blurred the lines of family, nation and business — essentially the charge the president makes against the Bidens as he battles a House impeachment inquiry focused on whether he improperly pushed Ukraine to investigate his political rivals for what he claims were shady dealings. Trump’s children ‘appear to people all over the world to be his bagmen,’ said Richard Painter, who served as White House ethics czar under President George W. Bush. ‘This is the Trump business empire. It’s owned by Donald Trump, the president, and they are managing it for him and collecting business on his behalf.’” [Los Angeles Times, 10/10/19]
For months, Rep. Comer’s true intentions of becoming chair of the Oversight Committee have been clear: weakening President Biden and Democrats and gaining more power for himself and his MAGA allies. These investigations are not about finding facts, ferreting out “waste” in government, or focusing on the real issues facing Americans. They are about turning the House Oversight Committee into a Trump-style partisan attack machine, to do or say anything to gain power.
The American people can’t trust James Comer after he and MAGA Republicans impeded legitimate oversight of President Trump for so long. The American people will see that this is nothing more than partisan warfare and political stunts by Comer and his MAGA Republican allies meant to weaken their opponents to gain power for themselves.