- The Washington Times - Thursday, November 9, 2023

The political left struck back at House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Thursday by saying he should release his past bank statements and tax returns.

The request comes after a report Thursday by The Daily Beast that the Kentucky Republican has given loans to his brother Chad Comer after repeatedly saying that the loan that President Biden gave to his brother James Biden is clear evidence of illegal acts.

Kyle Herrig, executive director of the Congressional Integrity Project, wrote a letter to Mr. Comer requesting 10 years of his returns and statements, saying he’s only released two years, while the president has released 25 years.

“Unsatisfied with this unprecedented level of access to a president’s financial records, you’ve used your power to dig into his family members’ finances,” the letter said. “Unable to find any wrongdoing there, you’ve purposefully chosen to misconstrue benign transactions between family members that occurred when President Biden was neither in office nor a candidate for office in order to push a false political narrative to harm the President.”

The left-leaning activist group’s letter said that “accusing the President’s family of profiting off of his name is ironic coming from you.”

The letter and the report on the Comer family transaction comes after the Wednesday subpoenas of presidential son Hunter Biden, presidential brother James Biden and several other family members.

It also comes weeks after the Oversight Committee demanded personal bank records from Hunter Biden and James Biden.

Mr. Comer, who is the head of the House’s impeachment inquiry, has accused the president of corruption and having ties with Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings while he was vice president.

Late last month Mr. Comer started asking questions about a personal check for $200,000 that James Biden and his wife, Sara Biden, gave to the president with the words “loan repayment” written on the front in 2018.

The chair said he found the check “troubling,” and that he didn’t “believe” there had ever actually been a loan. CNN has reported that bank records it had reviewed showed substantial evidence that a loan existed.

The report on the Comers by The Daily Beast showed that Mr. Comer and his brothers have done multiple land swaps over the years within the farming business that he co-owned with his brother and used to run with their father, which involved a lot of money.

One of the deals involved $200,000 just like the president’s. Some involved shell companies, while other land swaps were accompanied by applications for special tax breaks, according to state records.

Over the years, Mr. Comer has held numerous positions that involved him in agriculture oversight.

Before being elected to the House in 2016, he spent years as Kentucky’s commissioner of agriculture. After he was elected, he served as a member of the 2018 farm bill conference committee that got more federal money for farmers and sat on the House Agriculture Committee.

The report also stated that there seemed to be no record of the Comer family farming business or of a personal company that Mr. Comer said he runs.

After his father died in 2019, Mr. Comer switched his business from farming the land to leasing it, and the year after he stopped being on the House Agriculture Committee, which is no longer listed on his governmental website.

Comer has used his position of power to influence peddle, pass laws forgiving government loans for his family, and apparently change policy positions based on donations, all with a startling lack of transparency into his own financial dealings,” Mr. Herrig said in a statement.

“It’s clear he and his family have benefited from his position in Congress and the American people deserve to know the truth about his shady business practices,” he said.

The Washington Times has reached out to Mr. Comer for comment.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.

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