James Comer’s day keeps getting worse with the news from the Daily Beast this morning about his family’s influence peddling on farm-land and agribusiness being shared with more and more people since our earlier roundup.
As a reminder, the Comer family influence peddling took place while Comer held powerful positions in the state legislature, as Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner, and as a member of the House Agriculture Committee in Congress.
Comer has spent all year investigating influence peddling and corruption by the Biden’s and has not turned up a single shred of evidence of wrongdoing whatsoever, while completely ignoring the issues affecting hard-working Americans. If Comer actually cared about accountability, he would start by investigating his own family.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (FL-23): 🚨BREAKING🚨 Today, @RepMoskowitz signed ‘subpoenas’ for: ◼️ James Comer It has been reported that Comer also loaned his brother $200k. We fully expect James to comply, just like the Trumps.” [X, 11/9/23]
Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-14): “James Comer has been asked to provide documents of his questionable transaction with his brother. Will he comply?” [X, 11/9/23]
Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-14): “James Comer should subpoena James Comer. He has a highly suspicious 6-figure transaction with his brother. Yet, he subpoenas Liz Naftali, who lost multiple family members in Hamas’s attack and still has a 3-year-old niece missing.” [X, 11/9/23]
The Washington Times: Left Calls On Comer To Release Own Bank Statements, Tax Returns Amid Biden Subpoenas. “The request comes after a report Thursday by the Daily Beast that the Kentucky Republican has given loans to his brother, Chad Comer, after repeatedly saying that the loan that President Biden gave to his brother, James Biden, is clear evidence of illegal acts. Kyle Herrig, executive director of the Congressional Integrity Project, wrote a letter to Mr. Comer requesting 10 years of his returns and statements, saying he’s only released two years, while the president has released 25 years. ‘Unsatisfied with this unprecedented level of access to a president’s financial records, you’ve used your power to dig into his family members’ finances,’ the letter said. ‘Unable to find any wrongdoing there, you’ve purposefully chosen to misconstrue benign transactions between family members that occurred when President Biden was neither in office nor a candidate for office in order to push a false political narrative to harm the President.’ The left-leaning activist group’s letter said that ‘accusing the President’s family of profiting off of his name is ironic coming from you.’ […] The report on the Comers by The Daily Beast showed that Mr. Comer and his brothers have done multiple land swaps over the years within the farming business that he co-owned with his brother and used to run with their father, which involved a lot of money. One of the deals involved $200,000 just like the president’s. Some involved shell companies, while other land swaps were accompanied by applications for special tax breaks, according to state records. Over the years, Mr. Comer has held numerous positions that involved him in agriculture oversight.” [The Washington Times, 11/9/23]
The Hill: Moskowitz Mocks Comer With His Own ‘Subpoena’ Amid Hunter Biden Probe. “Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla) went after Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) on Thursday, mocking the House Oversight Committee chair for sending out subpoenas in his probe investigating Biden family finances. The Oversight panel posted a video Wednesday of Comer signing subpoenas for the president’s son Hunter Biden, brother James Biden and their business partner Rob Walker as part of Republicans’ impeachment probe into the president. Recent developments in the probe have focused on a $200,000 loan the president made to his brother in 2018, according to revealed bank records. Comer alleges the loan repayment is proof of the president profiting from illicit international business. Moskowitz’s post recreated the video shot-for-shot with the congressman signing a prop ‘subpoena’ for Comer instead, calling him a hypocrite over the investigation. Moskowitz said Comer himself had done the same, also giving his brother a $200,000 personal loan, according to reports from The Daily Beast on Thursday. ‘It has been reported that Comer also loaned his brother $200k. We fully expect James to comply, just like the Trumps,’ Moskowitz said on X, formerly Twitter.” [The Hill, 11/9/23]
The Independent: GOP Chairman Slammed Biden For ‘Shady Business Practices’. He Did The Same Thing. “House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer reportedly loaned and was repaid $200,000 by his brother in a transaction similar to one he called evidence of ‘shady business practices’ when it involved President Joe Biden and his brother, James Biden. In recent weeks, Mr Comer has attempted to claim that payments from James Biden to the president — made during a period when he was a private citizen after the Obama administration left office — were evidence that Mr Biden profited from his family’s business ventures. […] But according to The Daily Beast, the Kentucky Republican and his brother also engaged in similar activities concerning a family farming business while he was an officeholder charged with overseeing agricultural policy. Mr Comer reportedly ‘channeled extra money to his brother, seemingly from nothing’ in the form of a $200,000 payment through a shell company, and also reportedly engaged in ‘land swaps’ followed by applications for preferable tax treatment. The transactions came at a time when the Kentuckian held a post on the powerful House Agricultural Committee, which is responsible for crafting annual legislation setting farm policy and authorising billions of dollars in federal agricultural programmes. Campaign Legal Centre senior ethics counsel Delaney Marsco told The Daily Beast that Mr Comer’s work on the House farm panel while he owned a family farm was concerning because of the possibility that he was trying to ‘game a personal business advantage’ from his position in Congress.” [The Independent, 11/9/23]
MSNBC (Opinion): Democrats Pounce Following Report On James Comer’s Family Deals. “House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s crusade against President Joe Biden has struggled mightily all year, but Republicans’ hopes were buoyed last month by a new revelation. […] Republicans nevertheless continued to treat this as fascinating — I’m honestly not sure why — acting as if the loan and repayment were evidence of something nefarious. The claims have never made much sense, and after seeing this Daily Beast report, the GOP’s line of attack suddenly looks worse. […] But it appears that some of Comer’s Democratic colleagues have taken a keen interest in the allegations. Swalwell asked online, for example, ‘Why did lead MAGA investigator James Comer channel $200,000 to his brother? What is going on? Will he answer questions and turn over documents?’ Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida, another Democratic member of the Oversight panel, raised related points and suggested that the committee ‘subpoena the records’ related to Comer’s deals. I don’t imagine we’ve heard the last of this one.” [MSNBC (Opinion), 11/9/23]
Salon: “Can’t Make This Up”: Dems Troll James Comer With “Subpoenas” After $200k Loan To Brother Revealed. “Democrats on Thursday mocked House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., after The Daily Beast revealed that he loaned his brother $200,000. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., a member of the Oversight committee, trolled Comer by mocking his Wednesday video in which he signed off on subpoenas to President Joe Biden’s brother James and son Hunter. ‘It has been reported that Comer also loaned his brother $200k. We fully expect James to comply, just like the Trumps,’ Moskowitz quipped on X/Twitter. Comer subpoenaed James Biden on Wednesday as part of his ongoing congressional investigation into unsubstantiated claims of the Biden family’s ‘shady business practices.’ He has implicated James Biden in the alleged business scheming, taking particular interest in two personal loan repayments from James Biden to his brother for $40,000 and $200,000 — transactions that occurred in 2017 and 2018 when Joe Biden was neither in office nor a candidate. The ‘shady business’ Comer purports is part of these repayments, however, mirrors similar transactions between himself and his own brother, according to The Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger. […] Unlike with the Bidens, Sollenberger adds, Comer’s decades-long history borders on being a conflict of interest between his official role and his private family business.” [Salon, 11/9/23]
Daily Kos: Rep. James Comer’s Family Business Is Shadier Than Anything Involving Joe Biden. “In the last two weeks, Rep. James Comer has claimed that President Joe Biden ‘laundered China money,’ accused Biden of ‘influence peddling,’ and issued subpoenas to members of Biden’s family. Comer has based these actions on the ‘discovery’ of transactions that Biden made no effort to disguise, including a $200,000 loan Biden extended to his brother and which his brother later repaid. However, as The Daily Beast reports, Comer was engaged in a series of business dealings with his own brother. Those dealings, which included a $200,000 payment, were nowhere near as straightforward as the dealings between Joe and James Biden. Comer’s deal involved not only a big payment but multiple land swamps, shell companies, and requests for special tax breaks. As members of the Biden family were being accused of ‘shady business practices,’ it seems that Comer has a forest’s worth of shade.” [Daily Kos, 11/9/23]
MeidasTouch: Jared Moskowitz Trolls Comer with “Subpoenas” After News of Shady $200K Loans. “Florida Congressman Jared Moskowitz expertly trolled House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Thursday after news of Comer’s shady personal loans was released by The Daily Beast in a bombshell report. […] This week, Comer signed subpoenas to several family members of President Joe Biden as part of his sham impeachment inquiry. In response, Congressman Moskowitz signed a ‘subpoena’ of his own targeting Chairman Comer following the new reporting about Comer’s shady dealings. According to the Daily Beast, after reviewing Kentucky property records, Comer and his brother engaged in several land swap deals, one of which involved a shell company and $200,000. The Daily Beast notes that these records present a possible conflict of interest on Comer’s part that should likely be investigated further. Once again, when it comes to the Republican Party, it appears every accusation is a confession.” [MeidasTouch, 11/9/23]
PoliticusUSA: A Bombshell Hits James Comer And Levels Biden Impeachment. “It turns out that Rep. James Comer (R-KY) has been abusing the power of his office and engaged in shady land deals and loans with his brother… The political implications of this bombshell are that James Comer is now conflicted and reportedly has engaged in the same behavior he is accusing President Biden of being involved in. The revelation wrecks the idea that any impeachment overseen by Comer will be taken seriously by anyone. Biden impeachment wasn’t going anywhere to begin with, but now that Oversight Committee Chair Comer looks corrupt, it might be completely dead.” [PoliticusUSA, 11/9/23]
Newsweek: James Comer’s Biden Subpoenas Backfire. “‘Today, @RepMoskowitz signed ‘subpoena’ for: James Comer,’ read the caption in Moskowitz’s post. ‘It has been reported that Comer also loaned his brother $200k. We fully expect James to comply, just like the Trumps.’… According to the Daily Beast, Comer’s deal with his brother also involved a $200,000 check that was sent in addition to a land swap between the relatives. A date was not provided for the alleged exchange. The outlet also reported that other recent land swaps between Comer and his brother were followed by ‘new applications for special tax breaks,’ according to Kentucky state records… GOP members on the House Oversight Committee have been investigating the Biden family for over 10 months, and have yet to uncover evidence of President Biden being directly involved with his son’s business dealings.” [Newsweek, 11/9/23]