This week in the House, Republicans doubled down on their conspiracy theories and efforts to protect insurrectionists. First, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer yet again misrepresented bank records in his committee’s possession. This time he falsely claimed that reimbursements Hunter Biden made to his father to pay for a 2018 truck were evidence that President Biden was involved in his son’s business dealings. When, in reality, President Biden helped his son buy a truck and his son paid him back. Then, House Speaker Mike Johnson took the insurrection protection committee to a whole new level. He announced he was going to blur the faces of insurrectionists in January 6th footage he planned to release to prevent insurrectionists from being retaliated against or charged by the Justice Department. So much for the Republican tough on crime message. Johnson’s spokesperson later clarified that the Justice Department already had the raw January 6th footage. Another week, another lie from James Comer. Another week, another way House Republicans are protecting insurrectionists.
James Comer Says Bank Records Don’t Lie, But He Certainly Does – This Time About A Truck Payment?!
JAMES COMER FALSELY CLAIMED CAR PAYMENTS WERE EVIDENCE OF WRONGDOING
HEADLINE: “Comer Mischaracterizes Hunter Biden Car Payment Reimbursement To His Dad” [Washington Post, 12/4/23]
James Comer Falsely Claimed That Three Payments Hunter Biden Made To His Father To Reimburse Him For Helping Buy A Truck Were Evidence That Joe Biden Participated In His Family’s Business Dealings. “In an email to reporters, a spokesperson for Comer claimed that the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating Biden, had obtained bank records revealing that Hunter Biden’s law firm, Owasco PC, which had received payments from Chinese-state-linked companies and other foreign companies in the past, made direct monthly payments to Joe Biden. The email claimed the payments ‘are part of a pattern revealing Joe Biden knew about, participated in and benefited from his family’s influence-peddling schemes.’ The three payments of $1,380 that occurred in September, October and November 2018 — nearly two years after Biden had left the vice presidency — were actually for a 2018 Ford Raptor truck Joe Biden had purchased that Hunter Biden was using, according to an email verified by a Washington Post forensic analysis.” [Washington Post, 12/4/23]
- Joe Biden Reportedly Signed For The Truck Because Hunter Biden Was Struggling With Addiction, Had A Low Credit Score, And Could Not Buy The Truck Himself. “Joe Biden signed for the truck and had it in his name — at a time when Hunter was in the depths of addiction, had a low credit score and couldn’t make the purchase himself, according to a person close to the Bidens, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private matter. The truck was used only for a limited time, going back to the dealer about a year after the purchase.” [Washington Post, 12/4/23]
- It Was Already Public Knowledge That Hunter Biden Had Made Payments To Joe Biden To Repay Him For The 2018 Ford Raptor Truck. “The redacted document provided to CNN shows that an account affiliated with Hunter Biden paid Joe Biden $1,380 on September 17, 2018. The document states the payments would occur on a monthly basis, and the panel is aware of at least three monthly payments to Joe Biden in total, a source familiar with the committee’s work told CNN. But documents provided to CNN appear to show that Hunter Biden was repaying his father for a Ford Raptor, information that had already been publicized. A source familiar with the payment told CNN that Hunter Biden’s credit was low at the time while he was struggling with addiction, so he couldn’t finance the car and his father signed for the car, which was in Joe Biden’s name.” [CNN, 12/4/23]
Washington Post: “Comer Has Consistently Oversold Or Misrepresented The Committee’s Investigative Findings As He Has Argued To Initiate Impeachment Proceedings.”
Washington Post: “Comer Has Consistently Oversold Or Misrepresented The Committee’s Investigative Findings As He Has Argued To Initiate Impeachment Proceedings.” “Comer has consistently oversold or misrepresented the committee’s investigative findings as he has argued to initiate impeachment proceedings. Last month, Comer trumpeted a $200,000 loan repayment Joe Biden received from his brother James Biden. Comer sought to paint the personal check in nefarious terms, alleging without evidence that it showed that Joe Biden had indirectly received payments from his family’s foreign business dealings.” [Washington Post, 12/4/23]
- COLUMN: “James Comer’s Biden Claims Do Not Deserve The Benefit Of The Doubt” [Washington Post, Philip Bump, 12/4/23]
- HEADLINE: “Comer’s Latest ‘Evidence’ Of Biden Corruption Turns Out To Be Car Payments” [Daily Beast, 12/4/23]
- HEADLINE: “Rep. James Comer Dishes Absurd Theory Over Hunter’s Truck Repayments” [Daily Beast, 12/4/23]
- HEADLINE: “The Huge, Hilarious Mistake In James Comer’s New Biden Corruption Claim” [New Republic, 12/4/23]
- HEADLINE: “GOP’s Comer Adds To His Long List Of Embarrassing Anti-Biden Duds” [MSNBC, 12/5/23]
Mike Johnson, “Key Architect” Of 2020 Election Conspiracy Theories, Uses His Authority To Protect Insurrectionists
ABC News: “House Speaker Says Jan. 6 Footage Should Be Blurred To Protect Rioters, Then Backtracks”
- House Speaker Mike Johnson Said He Was Blurring Surveillance Footage Of January 6th He Planned To Release To The Public Because He Didn’t Want The Insurrectionists “To Be Retaliated Against And To Be Charged By The DOJ.” “House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday he was blurring the complete surveillance footage from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in order to protect participants from being charged by law enforcement — a statement soon reversed by a spokesman. ‘We have to blur some of the faces of persons who participated in the events of that day because we don’t want them to be retaliated against and to be charged by the DOJ [Department of Justice] and to have other, you know, concerns and problems,’ Johnson, who joined some other Republicans in seeking to overturn Trump’s 2020 election defeat, said at a press conference.” [ABC News, 12/5/23]
- House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Spokesperson Later Clarified That The Justice Department Already Had Access To The Raw Footage From January 6th. “In a statement issued on social media soon after, however, spokesman Raj Shah wrote: ‘Faces are to be blurred from public viewing room footage to prevent all forms of retaliation against private citizens from any non-governmental actors. The Department of Justice already has access to raw footage from January 6, 2021.’ Indeed, federal investigators have possessed the blurred footage from that day for nearly three years and have used it to help identify suspects in the riot, sometimes with the public’s help. To date, more than 1,200 people have been charged in connection with Jan. 6, including 117 people who have been accused of using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to a police officer, according to the DOJ.” [ABC News, 12/5/23]
CNN: “House Speaker Johnson Wants To Blur January 6 Footage To Protect Capitol Rioters”
NBC News: “Speaker Mike Johnson Says He’s Blurring Jan. 6 Footage So Rioters Don’t Get Charged”
Axios: “House Speaker Says He’ll Blur Some Jan. 6 Footage To Protect Rioters”
MSNBC: “What Mike Johnson Is Really Hiding By Blurring Jan. 6 Footage”
The Guardian: “Republicans To Blur Faces In January 6 Footage As ‘We Don’t Want Them Charged’”
Huffington Post: “Mike Johnson Says Republicans Are Blurring Jan. 6 Footage To Protect Rioters From DOJ”
Rolling Stone: “Republicans Are Blurring The Faces Of Capitol Rioters So They Won’t Get Arrested”