House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has turned “investigating” President Joe Biden and his family into a 24/7 crusade. His rationale? According to a tweet blasted out Friday, Comer is merely trying to determine whether or not the president “has compromised national security.”
Make no mistake, @GOPoversight is investigating President Biden’s role in his family’s shady foreign business deals.
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) February 24, 2023
We must determine whether @POTUS has compromised national security.
I will follow the Biden money trail & get the facts for the American people. @FoxBusiness pic.twitter.com/KQCxFwgDFC
It’s a bold accusation, especially due to the lack of evidence. The committee began with a hearing earlier in February purportedly investigating U.S. intelligence efforts to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story on social media. But that hearing revealed no bombshells — and very little information. It was a predictable outcome, but a frustrating one, nonetheless.
Because if House Republicans are so concerned about foreign influence over a first family, all of Washington, D.C., is aware of a case ripe for congressional scrutiny.
In (another) eye-opening report published by The Washington Post in February, Michael Kranish explored financial links connecting former President Donald Trump, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“The substantial investments by the Saudis in enterprises that benefited both men came after they cultivated close ties with Mohammed while Trump was in office,” Kranish writes. “Now, with Trump running for president again, some national security experts and two former White House officials say they have concerns that Trump and Kushner used their offices to set themselves up to profit from their relationship with the Saudis after the administration ended.”
But where is Comer’s outrage, asks Kyle Herrig, executive director of the Congressional Integrity Project. “Comer is able to constantly feign outrage over every single action by President Biden’s family members, who are private citizens,” he told me, “while being more than happy to look the other way and defend Trump’s family from legitimate and damning scandals.”
Actually, forget outrage; I’d settle for some low-level legislative interest. Appearing on ABC on Feb. 12, Comer refused to say whether his committee would investigate Kushner’s shady business dealings, instead leaning on a broad, “I think everything’s on the table” throwaway line.
Color me skeptical.
And yet, given the timing of the Trump family deal with the Saudis, asking whether Kushner and his father-in-law may have used the trappings of the West Wing to entice investments from a foreign country seems like a pretty obvious move for someone with “oversight” in his title. Especially considering the multiple foreign trips Kushner made to the Middle East during his father-in-law’s presidency. Where are the depositions? Where are the hearings? Where are the declarative statements of corruption on Fox News? I spent many years working for the House Oversight Committee when Republicans were in the majority during the Obama years. I guarantee that my former bosses would have jumped at the chance to investigate these types of circumstances, had the families involved been the Clintons or the Obamas. This glaring act of hypocrisy once again undermines the legitimacy of the committee’s activities. Where are the subpoenas? Where are the depositions? Where are the hearings? Where are the declarative statements of corruption on Fox News? The fact that Republicans appear so willing to ignore potential foreign influence is a colossal example of dereliction of duty. They’d rather devote taxpayer resources to witch hunts. The irony. And as long as it continues to ignore the Trump-Kushner-Saudi business dealings, everything else the committee does lacks credibility. But maybe House Republicans no longer care about their credibility. Maybe Comer is perfectly happy to trample on the integrity of congressional institutions, content to dabble in conspiracy, rather than actual governmental corruption. It certainly seems like they are won’t be putting a stop to these kinds of massively unpopular theatrics anytime soon. Maybe wasting time and money repeating tired Trump talking points make political sense for this wing of the House GOP. Or maybe it will further undermine their own reputations while pushing the electorate further toward the Democrats.
Kurt Bardella
Kurt Bardella is an adviser to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and a member of the Korean Americans for Political Action board of advisers. He is a former spokesperson and senior adviser for Republicans on the House Oversight Committee. You can follow him @KurtBardella.
