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Meet James Comer: Underminer of Legitimate Investigations

Dec 22, 2022

All this month, the Congressional Integrity Project is introducing one of Donald Trump’s staunchest 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.

James Comer has spent the past six years undermining legitimate investigations into corruption from Trump and his administration. Comer repeatedly opposed bipartisan efforts to investigate Trump administration officials and made excuses for Trump’s corruption and extremism.

  • James Comer Tried to Prevent Bipartisan Effort to Force Attorney General Bill Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to Handover Census Documents from Trump Administration. In April 2019, Rep. Comer and the Republican leadership of the House Oversight Committee tried to block a bipartisan effort to force Trump administration officials to handover important documents related to the 2020 Census. [CQ, 4/2/19]
  • James Comer Defended Trump’s Attempts to Shut Down An Investigation Into Michael Flynn. After Trump tried to shut down former FBI Director James Comey’s investigation into Michael Flynn, Rep. Comer claimed that Trump, “may have been joking” and refused to investigate the move. [Louisville Courier-Journal, 5/18/17; The Times Tribune, 5/18/17]

Comer and his fellow Congressional Republicans looked the other way time and time again while Trump’s family benefited financially in ethically questionable deals from countries like China and Saudi Arabia.

  • In April 2017, Ivanka Trump Received Three Trademark Approvals In China The Same Day Ivanka And Her Father Dined With Chinese President Xi Jinping. “On the same day Trump and his daughter dined with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago in Florida in April 2017, China awarded her three preliminary trademark approvals for jewelry, handbags and spa services.” [LA Times, 10/10/19]
  • Less Than Six Months After Leaving The White House, Jared Kushner’s Firm Received A $2B Investment From Saudi Arabia Despite Widespread Opposition From Committees In The Saudi Government. “Ms. Maloney’s letter refers to disclosures, first published by The New York Times in early April, that the Saudi government’s main sovereign wealth fund invested $2 billion in Mr. Kushner’s firm despite objections from one of its own internal committees over his lack of relevant investment experience. That investment occurred less than six months after Mr. Kushner left his post in the White House — a role that had given him broad oversight of the administration’s diplomacy efforts in the Middle East.” [New York Times, 6/2/22]

The American people cannot trust James Comer and his MAGA allies to conduct fair investigations after they impeded legitimate oversight of Trump, his family, and his administration for so long. It is clear that Comer and Republicans are following Trump’s playbook and plan to use these investigations as a pathetic attempt to weaken their political opponents rather than use their investigative power on the issues Americans actually care about.