House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) is fundraising off of President Joe Biden‘s assertion of executive privilege as Republicans attempt to get their hands on tapes of special counsel Robert Hur‘s interview with the president.
In an email obtained by the Washington Examiner, Comer says that Biden and his advisers are “terrified” of the audio recordings from the interview, centered on Biden’s handling of classified documents, because their release would force them to answer for “the dismal decline of Biden’s mental state.”
“The Democrats are pulling out all the stops to stop the bleeding, and that means coming after me with everything they have,” Comer said in an email addressed to supporters. “If you’re able, I’d be so grateful if you’d consider making a donation to my campaign, I sure need it to defend against the onslaught of attacks.”
The fundraising email comes after the Justice Department announced Thursday morning that the president was asserting executive privilege over the recordings, placing another roadblock in the way of House Republicans as they continue to argue with the DOJ over whether Congress should have access.
The House Judiciary and House Oversight committees passed contempt resolutions for Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday, allowing them to be brought to the floor for a full House vote. Republicans argue that Biden’s executive privilege assertion was a politicized move, as the DOJ informed Congress shortly before the start of the Judiciary hearing.
Comer, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), and other GOP lawmakers said the audio recordings would shed light on the 81-year-old Biden’s cognitive abilities. In March, Hur released a bombshell report in his classified documents investigation in which he argued Biden should not be prosecuted, in part because a jury would find him to be a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
“This could be the final blow to Biden with swing voters across the country,” Comer said in his fundraising email. “You and I know he’s not up for the job, but the mainstream media’s refusal to report on it is the only thing keeping him in the game.”
Democrats pushed back on Republicans’ claims that the audio recordings were necessary, accusing the GOP of wanting the audio recording for “Donald Trump’s campaign commercials” or to use Biden’s stutter to “smear” him.
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During the Oversight Committee hearing on Thursday night, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) presented and read Comer’s fundraising email out loud in dramatic fashion.
“It’s on lovely stationery. In fact, it says, ‘From the desk of the Oversight chairman,’” Moskowitz said, receiving laughs from his fellow Democrats. “I’m not sure you can do that, but I’m not an ethics expert.”