House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is losing support among his GOP colleagues over his handling of the Biden impeachment probe, with some declaring the inquiry chocks up to a "clueless investigation" at best and a "disaster" at worst.
“One would be hard pressed to find the best moment for James Comer in the Oversight Committee,” one House Republican lawmaker, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, told The Messenger. “It’s been a parade of embarrassments.”
As the 2024 presidential election draws closer, Comer's impeachment investigation is nearing its conclusion with no hard-hitting accusations to level against President Joe Biden. More than a dozen Republican lawmakers, senior aides and strategists told The Messenger that how little the probe has accomplished has whittled down the faith they had in the Kentucky Republican.
Some top Republicans in the party take issue with the investigation's lack of focus, with the probe following obscure lines of inquiry, including claims of influence peddling and foreign bribery, and looking Hunter Biden's artwork sales and loan agreements between the president and his brother.
“Comer has cast a wide net and caught very little fish. That is a big problem for him,” a personal Donald Trump ally told the outlet.
Republicans' growing distrust in the chairman, however, does not sway their trust in the grounds for the probe. GOP sources said that the thousands of financial documents and slate of testimony from witnesses have offered viable points of contention, including allegations that then-Vice President Biden was connected to a bribery plot in Ukraine.
The problem lies in Comer's mismanagement of the investigation, which some believe has fumbled their chances of landing an impeachment of the president by the 2024 election.
“James Comer continues to embarrass himself and House Republicans. He screws up over and over and over,” a source close to GOP leadership told The Messenger. “I don’t know how Republicans actually impeach the president based on his clueless investigation and lack of leadership.”
Comer's back and forth with Hunter Biden over the president's son sitting for a closed-door deposition in the investigation was a common example of such "embarrassments."
Earlier this month, Republicans were readying to hold the younger Biden in contempt of Congress for dodging the deposition, despite Hunter Biden expressing interest in providing a public testimony. Two weeks ago, during an Oversight Committee hearing intended to discuss the contempt resolution, the younger Biden made a surprise appearance that sparked outcry and dissension among the lawmakers.
“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.”
GOP members have also taken issue with Comer's Fox News and Newsmax appearances about the probe, where they bemoan his promises of "bombshell information" that he later fails to deliver on, The Messenger reports. One source cited the committee's first impeachment hearing in September, widely recognized as a blunder, with one star GOP witness acknowledging the investigation did not yet have enough evidence to move forward with an impeachment.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., also told the outlet that Republicans have privately complained about the committee's last hearing. “Republicans believe the Oversight Committee has been a complete failure in all these theatrical hearings that never deliver on their promise,” Moskowitz said, explaining that after the last hearing Republican committee members told him it "was a complete debacle for them.”
“This is why we shouldn't pick our chairman based on how much money they raise,” another member told Moskowitz, according to the Florida Democrat.
ATrump ally told The Messenger that Comer “set the bar too high” for what constitutes an impeachable offense by trying to prove that Joe Biden accepted a direct payment from his son or brother, James Biden, during the committee panel's dive into the transactions, which the White House dismissed as regular loan repayments.
Proving such a transaction was not necessary, the Trump ally said, explaining that the bar shouldn't be that high for impeachment. “Congress determines what is a high crime and misdemeanor,” the source said.
A Comer spokesperson defended the legislator, saying he 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," the spokesperson added.
One Republican lawmaker told The Messenger he elevated his concerns about Comer's leadership to Speaker Mike Johnson, whose office, according to the lawmaker, said Johnson was aware of the issue and agreed but couldn't really take any action. A spokesperson for the speaker denied that the exchange occurred.
In a statement to the outlet, Johnson said he is "fully supportive" of Comer's work.
"I am grateful for the superb efforts of Chairman Comer," Johnson said. "Without his and the other investigators’ work, we wouldn’t have uncovered the millions in foreign funds going to the Biden family, the dozens of exchanges between the President and Hunter Biden’s clients, and the litany of lies the White House has told."
Comer's critics, however, have their eyes set on the calendar, with the time between now and the 2024 presidential election dwindling to under 10 months. For them, the probe into the president and his family, has lagged since the GOP gained control of the House last January.
"You have to start producing," a Trump ally told The Messenger. "The base is starting to get more and more frustrated with him because they see all this smoke but they don’t see the movement."
