The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Kentucky Republican Representative James Comer, has faced pushback after he complained about President Joe Biden’s late son Beau Biden not being prosecuted in connection to an investigation into illegal contributions involving Mr Biden’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Mr Comer has spent much of his time investigating the business dealings of Mr Biden’s other son, Hunter.
The chair appeared on Lou Dobbs’s programme on Fox Business on Tuesday, complaining about Hunter Biden not yet being charged by the US attorney reviewing his case.
David Weiss, the US attorney for the District of Delaware, was appointed by former President Donald Trump and has been investigating Hunter Biden and his tax affairs since 2018. Prosecutors have also considered pressing charges against him for supposedly lying on an application form for a firearm.
“This US attorney had had an opportunity to go after the Bidens years ago,” Mr Comer said on Tuesday, according to The Daily Beast. “In fact, it was Beau Biden, the president’s other son, that was involved in some campaign donations from a person that got indicted, as well as Joe Biden was involved in some of these campaign donations when he was a senator, and then when he ran for president against Obama.”
“But nothing ever happened. So I don’t know much about this US attorney other than he’s had an opportunity to investigate the Bidens before and he chose not to. We all know that he’s just been silent for a long time,” he added.
“There’s enough to indict Hunter Biden now, there was enough to indict Hunter Biden three or four years ago with what’s on [his] laptop,” he claimed. “So for whatever reason, this US attorney hasn’t produced very many results.”
The campaign donations mentioned by Mr Comer are linked to contributions from Christopher Tigani, a Delaware liquor executive, made during the 2000s, including the 2008 campaign, according to The Daily Beast.
After Mr Tigani pleaded guilty in 2011 to campaign finance charges in connection to a contribution reimbursement procedure, Beau Biden, who was serving as the Delaware Attorney General at the time, recused himself from a state investigation into the donations. He appointed a special prosecutor to lead the probe.
The subsequent report stated that 19 lawmakers had unknowingly received straw donations, including both of the Bidens, and no officials were charged.
“Although some witnesses made vague references or speculated to the effect that candidates or their agents knew about or suggested reimbursements, investigators did not find credible evidence to support a charge,” the report by special prosecutor Norman Veasey stated.
White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Wednesday, saying that “on a human level, that’s appalling. It’s despicable. And frankly, it says quite a lot — none of it good — about James Comer”.
Twitter users were also quick to slam Mr Comer.
Eddie Vale, a Democratic operative, called him a “sick person”.
Former senior Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer tweeted that “Jim Comer has a Trumpian blend of incompetence and malice”.
Former Republican Florida Representative David Jolly tweeted: “Disgraced GOP House Oversight Chair Comer, himself credibly accused of physical violence after a girlfriend revealed his name in paperwork related to abortion services, just complained to Lou Dobbs that Beau Biden wasn’t prosecuted before his passing.”
Kurt Bardella, a former staffer to a Republican oversight chair and now a Democratic strategist, tweeted: “Alexa, what is a soulless, piece of s***?”
Comedian and former CIA officer Emily Brandwin added: “There’s a special place in Hell for someone attacking a veteran who died from cancer. Scratch that… Hell is too nice for this guy.”
“Republican Congressman James Comer House Oversight Chair bemoans that the Delaware AG didn’t prosecute Joe Biden’s dead son Beau! How much lower will the GOP go! Where is any integrity and respect?” Robert Dunn asked.
