House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has promised more evidence in President Joe Biden’s impeachment inquiry for months, and some Republicans are growing restless about the lack of proof showing misconduct by the president.
Despite formalizing the impeachment inquiry last month into whether Biden improperly benefited from his son Hunter’s foreign business dealings in Ukraine and China, Comer’s leadership in the yearslong investigation is being questioned by Republicans, as no evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors has been produced.
“James Comer continues to embarrass himself and House Republicans,” a source close to GOP leadership told the Messenger. “He screws up over and over and over. I don’t know how Republicans actually impeach the president based on his clueless investigation and lack of leadership.”
Comer has subpoenaed financial records and thousands of released documents, claiming the records showed evidence of payments between Biden and his son during his time as vice president, but those were later dismissed as car payments by Hunter Biden’s attorney and the White House. The House Oversight Committee has heard key testimony from multiple sources, including the younger Biden’s friend Kevin Morris. His attorney accused Comer of cherry-picking items from his testimony last week.
Despite his efforts, some Republicans think Comer is being played by his Democratic counterparts. Hunter Biden made a surprise appearance at a Jan. 10 congressional hearing where GOP lawmakers were arguing for a vote to hold him in contempt of Congress for refusing to appear before the Oversight Committee.
“It seems like they got played by Hunter Biden,” one senior House GOP aide told the outlet. “It was a disaster. They looked like buffoons.”
An ally to former President Donald Trump told the Messenger that Comer has set too high of standards for the inquiry by attempting to prove a direct payment to the president.
“He has been one to essentially say things like, ‘We need to find all these transfers to Joe Biden,’ and, ‘That’s what an impeachable offense is,’” the Trump ally said. “He has set the bar too high when it shouldn’t be set that high for impeachment. Congress determines what is a high crime and misdemeanor.”
In public, top Republican officials continue to back Comer. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he is fully supportive of the chairman.
With a likely Biden-Trump rematch on the horizon, the former president has publicly and privately encouraged House Republicans to impeach his Democratic rival. Trump, who is facing 91 felony charges across four indictments, urged Republicans to impeach Biden, or they would “fade into OBLIVION” in an August 2023 post on Truth Social.
Twice-impeached himself, Trump suggested in September 2023 that Biden’s impeachment investigation might be revenge for Democrats impeaching him.
“I think had they not done it to me … perhaps you wouldn’t have it being done to them,” Trump told Megyn Kelly on her SiriusXM show. “And this is going to happen with indictments, too.”
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A spokesperson for Comer told the outlet that the chairman has “made it clear this investigation’s legislative purpose is to ban influence peddling and reform federal ethics laws.”
“Now that we are in an impeachment inquiry, the Oversight Committee, along with the Committees on the Judiciary and Ways and Means, are continuing to follow the facts to determine whether President Biden’s conduct warrants articles of impeachment,” Comer’s spokesperson said.