White House attacks Comer’s credibility ahead of FBI contempt vote: ‘Repeatedly failing to deliver’
The White House assailed the credibility of House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer Wednesday ahead of proceedings to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress related to a probe of Biden family financial dealings.
“In just a few short months, Comer and his MAGA Republican colleagues in Congress have torpedoed their credibility by repeatedly failing to deliver on much-hyped allegations,” the White House said in a memo. “Their fact-free wild goose chase continues to be a waste of taxpayer resources when House Republicans should instead be focusing on the real issues American families care about.”
Mr. Comer, Kentucky Republican, has demanded Mr. Wray turn over a document that purportedly describes an allegation that President Biden accepted a bribe as vice president during the Obama administration.
The FBI has insisted it has been cooperative with Mr. Comer, noting that officials briefed him and ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, Maryland Democrat, on Monday and gave them a chance to review the document.
Mr. Comer has argued that is not sufficient, and on Wednesday teed up a resolution to hold Mr. Wray in contempt for not fully complying with a subpoena.
The White House came out swinging in the memo, which outlines what it says are three examples of Mr. Comer failing to deliver after promising to reveal illegal activities by Mr. Biden and his family.
“This repetitive tactic of laundering thin innuendo has proven his total lack of credibility — and lays bare why his baseless or debunked claims deserve derision,” wrote Ian Sams, White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations.
Mr. Sams accused Mr. Comer of going on a fishing expedition simply to make appearances on right-wing television outlets “so he can simply say ‘Biden’ and ‘bribery’ over and over again in the same sentence.”
He also said in the memo that The Washington Post reported that the bribery allegation was not supported by facts, and NBC called the allegation unsubstantiated and CNN reported that the FBI and prosecutors couldn’t corroborate the claims. But former Attorney General William Barr this week discredited those reports, saying the matter had been referred to a federal prosecutor for more investigation during the Trump administration.
Mr. Sams derided the House investigation as a sham solely aimed at damaging the president’s poll numbers. He said Mr. Comer’s playbook is predictable: “Over-promise, then under-deliver.”
“Instead of spending their time and energy working on the issues that matter most to the American people, like lowering costs, creating jobs, or strengthening health care, congressional Republicans, led by…Comer and his committee, have spent six months wasting taxpayer resources to stage politically-motivated stunts disguised as ‘investigations,’” Mr. Sams wrote.
