Tough week for House Republicans and especially House Oversight Chair, James Comer. Despite House Republicans finally choosing to formalize an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, Rep. Comer was unable to take a victory lap following a report from the Associated Press that detailed Comer’s ties to a shell company and shady characters of his own. According to AP, Comer has been vague when it comes to reporting the assets owned by a company, which he lists on his financial disclosure documents as worth over a million dollars. Comer created the company with the help of a longtime campaign contributor and Monroe County construction contractor, Darren Cleary. It is time Comer answered questions regarding his own finances, before he drags the rest of Congress into his impeachment rabbit hole.
Comer will have a hard time making progress since on the same day of the impeachment inquiry vote high-profile Republicans, like Sen. Chuck Grassley, announced there was “no evidence” tying President Joe Biden to his son’s foreign business dealings. Comer himself fumbled when he was asked for evidence, he went on to cite mischaracterized banking documents to promote a theory that has already been debunked by several news outlets. It is not a good sign when House Republicans can’t even name a single crime they are investigating, which Rep. Joe Neguse was keen on pointing out when he asked Rep. Guy Reschenthaler to name what specific constitutional crime had been committed by President Biden. Reschenthaler responded, “once I get time, I will explain what we’re looking at.” Apparently, that is enough to justify an impeachment inquiry. Stay tuned as next week we continue to point out hypocrisy as Chairman Jim Jordan, who defied a subpoena, makes the case for why subpoenas matter.
Recent Reporting From The Associated Press Showed Rep. James Comer Has Ties To A Shell Company And Shady Business Friends
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTED REP. JAMES COMER HAS A SHELL COMPANY OF HIS OWN, AND HAS A HISTORY OF CAVORTING WITH SHADY CHARACTERS
Associated Press: “The Republican Leading The Probe Of Hunter Biden Has His Own Shell Company And Complicated Friends”
- The Associated Press Reported That Comer’s Financial Disclosures About Farm Team Properties Were Vague And Did Not Provide Details About Comer’s Choice To Put Six Acres Of Owned Land In A Shell Company Or What Additional Assets It May Own – Yet The Company’s Value Was Listed At Over A Million Dollars. “The AP found that [Comer-owned] Farm Team Properties functions in a similarly opaque way as the companies used by the Bidens, masking his stake in the land that he co-owns with the donor from being revealed on his financial disclosure forms. Those records describe Farm Team Properties as his wife’s ‘land management and real estate speculation’ company without providing further details. It’s not clear why Comer decided to put those six acres in a shell company, or what other assets Farm Team Properties may hold. On his most recent financial disclosure forms, Comer lists its value as being as much as $1 million, a substantial sum but a fraction of his overall wealth.” [Associated Press, 12/14/23]
- Comer Created Farm Team Properties In A Joint Venture With Darren Cleary, A Campaign Contributor And Construction Contractor From Comer’s Own Monroe County. “Comer created the company in 2017 to hold his stake in the six acres that he purchased two years earlier in a joint venture with Cleary, a campaign contributor and construction contractor from Monroe County, Kentucky, where the congressman was born and raised.” [Associated Press, 12/14/23]
- Following The Release Of Associated Press’s Story, Comer Denied Cleary Was A Campaign Contributor, Despite Cleary Donating To Comer’s Political Campaigns Since 2010, And Stated Farm Team Properties Had Five Different Assets, But Didn’t Reveal What Those Assets Were. “After this story first published Thursday, Comer responded during an appearance on FOX News, stating that Farm Team Properties ‘has five different assets and lots of revenue.’ He didn’t reveal what those other assets may be. He also falsely claimed that the donor, Darren Cleary, ‘wasn’t a campaign contributor’ at the time the property was purchased. Cleary and his family have donated to Comer’s political campaigns since at least 2010, records show.” [Associated Press, 12/14/23]
- Comer Also Has Ties To Billy Proffitt, A Former College Roommate Who Pled Guilty In 2011 To A Voter Fraud Case, Who Went On To Defend Comer After He Was Accused Of Abusing A Former Girlfriend. “In 2011, a voter fraud case roiled local politics and swept up Billy Proffitt, Comer’s longtime friend and former college roommate. Proffitt pleaded guilty in December 2011 and was sentenced to probation. A few years later, Proffitt came to Comer’s defense from allegations that nearly derailed the future congressman’s political career. During the 2015 Republican primary for governor, a local blogger began posting about accusations that Comer had abused a college girlfriend. […] Profitt’s family’s real estate company is spearheading the efforts to sell the land held by Farm Team Properties. In a brief interview, Proffitt called the focus on Comer’s shell company ‘much ado about nothing,’ adding that the lawmaker ‘is a loyal friend and a good man who comes from a really, really good family.’” [Associated Press, 12/14/23]
Comer’s Impeachment Inquiry Vote Was Muddled By Lack Of Evidence And High-Profile Republicans Announcing “No Evidence” About The President’s Involvement
WHEN ASKED ABOUT EVIDENCE OF WRONGDOING, REP. COMER CITED EXAMPLES THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN DEBUNKED
Washington Post: “Still Lacking Evidence, House GOP Votes To Formalize Biden Impeachment Inquiry”
- When Rep. Comer Was Asked About Evidence That President Biden Engaged In Wrongdoing, Comer Cited Bank Reports That Have Been Repeatedly Mischaracterized. “Pressed about whether he has found evidence that the president had engaged in wrongdoing or criminal conduct, Comer said he had found ‘some very serious evidence,” before citing two examples of banking records he has repeatedly mischaracterized.’” [Washington Post, 12/13/23]
Washington Post: “The GOP’s Impeachment Inquiry Starts On Shaky Political Ground”
New York Times: “Urged on by Trump, House Republicans Embrace Biden Impeachment Inquiry”
MSNBC: “Despite Lack Of Evidence, GOP Advances Biden Impeachment Inquiry”
Daily Beast: “House Republicans Dive Headfirst Into Impeachment Inquiry—Elections Be Damned!”
Rolling Stone: “Republicans Rage After Hunter Biden Snubs Subpoena”
Daily Beast: “Comer Mansplains to Reporter on Biden Loans: ‘You Don’t Understand’”
Comer Can’t Even Taken His Circus To Fox & Friends Anymore After Facing Pushback On His Investigation Of President Biden
Huffington Post: “James Comer Says He Won’t Go On ‘Fox & Friends’ Anymore Because Of Steve Doocy”
- James Comer Announced During An Interview He Would No Longer Appear On Fox & Friends Because Of Steve Doocy Being “Critical Of The Investigation.” “Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) suggested Tuesday he no longer appears on ‘Fox & Friends’ because one of its hosts, Steve Doocy, asks questions he doesn’t like about House Republicans’ investigation into the Biden family. ‘I quit going on ‘Fox & Friends’ because of Doocy,” the House Oversight Committee chairman told Newsmax host Eric Bolling. ‘He’s the one guy on Fox that’s been very critical of the investigation.’” [Huffington Post, 12/13/23]
IT IS A BAD LOOK FOR COMER WHEN EVEN CHUCK GRASSLEY WON’T GO DOWN HIS CONSPIRACY-FUELED RABBIT HOLE
The Hill: “Grassley says he has seen ‘no evidence’ of wrongdoing in GOP Biden probe”
- On The Day House Republicans Voted To Formalize An Impeachment Inquiry Into President Joe Biden, Sen. Chuck Grassley Announced He Had Seen “No Evidence” That President Biden Was Involved In His Son’s Foreign Business Dealings. “Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that he has seen ‘no evidence’ that President Biden was involved in his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings. ‘I’m going to take the same position that I’ve taken since 2019 that all I can say is there’s some indication, maybe some compromise with China particularly, but I have no evidence of it,’ Grassley told CNN’s Manu Raju on Wednesday. [The Hill, 12/13/23]
The Messenger: “GOP Sen. Grassley Says Evidence in Biden Impeachment Probe Can’t Yet Show ‘The President Is Guilty of Anything’”
New Republic: “Republican Senator Admits There’s ‘No Evidence’ on Biden Impeachment”
Washington Examiner: “Grassley Says He Has ‘No Evidence’ Biden Is ‘Guilty Of Anything’ Ahead Of Impeachment Vote”
House Republicans Couldn’t Even Point To A Single Crime They Believe Has Been Committed By President Biden Even When Announcing A Formal Impeachment Inquiry
Washington Post: “A Revealing Exchange On The GOP’s Speculative Impeachment Inquiry”
- Joe Neguse Asked Rep. Guy Reschenthaler What Specific Constitutional Crime House Republicans Were Investigating To Justify An Impeachment Inquiry Into President Biden, Reschenthaler Responded, “Once I Get Time, I Will Explain What We’re Looking At.” “‘What is the specific constitutional crime that you’re investigating?’ Neguse asked Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.). ‘Well, we’re having an inquiry so we can do an investigation to compel the production of witnesses and documents,’ Reschenthaler said. Neguse, who served as a House prosecutor during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, pressed again: ‘And what is the crime you’re investigating?’ Reschenthaler responded merely, ‘High crimes, misdemeanors and bribery.’ It was a reference to the constitutional threshold for impeachment, not a specific offense. ‘What high crime and misdemeanor are you investigating?’ Neguse asked. ‘Look,’ Reschenthaler said, ‘once I get time, I will explain what we’re looking at.’” [Washington Post, 12/13/23]