EXCLUSIVE — As House Republicans face a rocky path forward in their efforts to impeach President Joe Biden, Democrats are now demanding Rep. James Comer (R-KY) to shift his attention elsewhere: former President Donald Trump.
In a letter sent to Comer on Thursday, the Democratic-aligned Congressional Integrity Project pressed the House Oversight Committee chairman to drop his efforts to investigate Biden and instead turn his focus to the former president and his son-in-law for alleged influence peddling.
“We are writing to assist you in your efforts to hold actual corrupt government officials accountable for business deals with foreign adversaries that demonstrate a disturbing willingness to put personal interests ahead of our national security,” reads the letter, which was first obtained by the Washington Examiner. “If you are still interested in oversight and accountability as you have repeatedly claimed, looking into the Trump family influence peddling would be a great next step.”
The letter comes after a tense exchange between Comer and Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) during the committee’s latest impeachment hearing on Wednesday, during which the Texas Democrat pressed Comer on whether he would be willing to investigate “if Saudi Arabia bribed or unduly influenced Jared Kushner or other White House officials” in the Trump administration.
Comer said he had previously pledged to “work on influence peddling,” suggesting he would be willing to look into allegations against Kushner, who served as the senior adviser to the president in the Trump White House. However, Comer emphasized his investigation into Biden was still his main course of action.
“We’ll take up all the people who have been accused of influence peddling,” Comer said. “We’ll try to determine whether Jared Kushner has a real business. We haven’t been able to find a real business that the Bidens have had yet now.”
The Congressional Integrity Project has previously demanded Comer investigate the Trump family for alleged influence peddling, with the group even launching a six-figure ad campaign last year claiming the Trump administration fraternized with foreign adversaries. The group has specifically requested inquiries into the conduct of Kushner and Trump’s three oldest children, accusing the four of “influence peddling” while Trump was in office.
In the letter sent this week, the CIP pointed to multiple instances the group believes should be thoroughly investigated by lawmakers. For example, the group pointed to Kushner’s contacts with foreign officials in at least four countries that he reportedly failed to disclose to the National Security Council during the first two years of the Trump administration.
The group also cited a $2 billion investment Kushner secured from the Saudi royal family six months after leaving the White House, a deal that was approved “despite the fact that the investment ‘encountered skepticism from Public Investment Fund officials.’”
The letter also cites alleged influence peddling committed by the former president’s daughter Ivanka Trump, accusing her of making “corrupt business deals with foreign adversaries that surely merits your scrutiny.”
“While we acknowledge it will be difficult to conduct proper oversight of all the corrupt business deals with foreign adversaries carried out by former President Trump and his family during their time in office with your limited time and resources, we are hopeful this letter has brought to your attention a small portion of the many concerning arrangements worth investigating,” the letter reads. “As you have made clear, such unethical behavior from these high ranking officials directly threatens our national security. Should you desire more examples of the damning evidence implicating President Trump and his family in influence peddling with foreign adversaries, we stand ready to assist you.”
Shortly after taking control of the Oversight Committee last year, Comer initially indicated he would continue investigations into the Trump administration as “part of our overall investigation.” However, he has made clear that Oversight Republicans would focus their attention on Biden — later dropping a number of investigations into Trump that he inherited from the last Congress.
When asked about the recent calls to investigate Kushner rather than the president and his son Hunter Biden, a spokesperson for the Oversight Committee emphasized the committee’s goal is to crack down on all influence peddling.
“Jared Kushner has a legitimate business; Hunter Biden does not,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “As part of our investigation into the Bidens’ influence peddling, Chairman Comer is crafting legislative solutions to reform federal ethics laws to prevent politicians and their family members from cashing in on public office.”
The letter comes as the investigation into Biden reaches a make-or-break moment, as some lawmakers have grown weary of the monthslong investigation that has failed to uncover evidence of wrongdoing by Biden. Since then, some GOP members have raised questions about whether the inquiry will even lead to a vote for impeachment — or if such a measure would even pass the lower chamber.
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When asked if he thought a vote on impeachment would happen at this point, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said last week, “I don’t know.”
“I mean, we’re in an election year, and so you know, in November, the people will speak,” said Roy, who serves on the House Judiciary Committee. “I think we have a duty to try to get all the facts out on all of these issues so the American people know them as part of the process and kind of work through to get it out there and expose the truth, and then we’ll see what happens.”