Latest news with #Comer
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Oversight Committee issues subpoena for Ghislaine Maxwell
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Wednesday issued a subpoena to Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein, for a deposition to occur at Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee on Aug. 11. 'The facts and circumstances surrounding both your and Mr. Epstein's cases have received immense public interest and scrutiny,' Comer wrote in a statement Wednesday. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022. MORE: GOP Sen. Thom Tillis says Epstein files could impact midterm prospects 'What we're talking about here is someone who's in federal prison on appeal, so our attorneys will have to communicate with her attorneys to see if there are terms, if she wants,' Comer said before the subpoena was issued. 'If there are no terms, we'll roll in there quick.' The situation will be similar to Comer's effort to interview Jason Galanis, a former business partner of Hunter Biden and Devon Archer, during the GOP's impeachment inquiry of then-President Joe Biden. 'I did that with [Jason] Galanis, and the Democrats were real offended that we would want to interview anyone in prison. But now you know they're, they're all they want to interview someone in prison,' Comer said. The committee has shown a propensity to record video of the interviews and release content afterwards -- as it did with several former Biden officials who invoked their 5th Amendment rights earlier this summer -- so it's possible there could be handout video from the deposition. Separately, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche will meet with Maxwell sometime in the "coming days." President Donald Trump last week said on his social media platform that he had ordered the Justice Department to "release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval." Comer has also signaled that the circumstances of a closed-door deposition at a federal prison could attract both Democrats and Republicans to attend the interview. 'There will be so many members of Congress that'll want to be in that prison,' Comer said. 'I would assume that there'll be a lot of members of the Oversight Committee on both -- in both parties that'll want to be there.' A Congressional subpoena is a formal legal order issued by a congressional committee or individual compelling their testimony.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP's Comer targets Biden judicial appointments in latest attack on his presidential actions
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has been overpromising and underdelivering on assorted partisan conspiracy theories for quite a while, but the Kentucky Republican is, if nothing else, stubborn. After spending years trying and failing to dig up dirt on Joe Biden during his presidency, Comer is still pursuing the same goal now that the former Democratic president has retired. To that end, the GOP congressman has been fixated this year on Biden's use of an autopen — a tool every modern president from both parties has utilized — and as The Daily Beast noted, Comer is even prepared to go in an unexpected direction: The MAGA lawmaker overseeing the investigation into former President Joe Biden's autopen use has vowed to probe the former president's judicial appointments. During an appearance on Fox News, Kentucky Rep. James Comer, who leads the House Oversight Committee, said his inquiry would 'look at everything that was signed with the autopen,' including executive orders, pardons, and nominees. For those new to this story, the basic idea behind the partisan crusade is relatively straightforward: Republicans have spent months suggesting that there was some kind of elaborate conspiracy, involving unnamed officials in or around the White House, who used the presidential autopen to engage in all sorts of mischief — signing everything from executive orders to pardons — while taking advantage of the fact that Biden was so completely incapacitated that he had no idea what was going on around him. The apparent partisan goal among GOP officials is to invalidate the documents the Democrat signed, opening the door to, among other things, prosecuting those Biden protected. Is there any evidence to support the Republicans' conspiracy theory? Well, no. In fact, the former president told The New York Times last week that while he, like his modern predecessors, utilized the autopen tool, he personally 'made every decision,' and nothing was ever signed without his direct and express approval. But the GOP fishing expedition continues anyway. In fact, Comer's interests appear to be broadening. When Fox News specifically asked the Oversight Committee chairman whether he's prepared to examine Biden's judicial appointments, Comer replied, 'Absolutely.' The Republican lawmaker didn't explicitly mention any of the jurists by name, but in context, the segment began with a lengthy focus on Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson — Biden's only appointee to the high court — and Comer could be seen on camera shaking his head in an apparent disagreement in response to the justice's public comments. Comer added that, as part of his conspiracy theory, he believes it's an open question as to whether Biden's judicial appointments, each of which was confirmed by a majority of the U.S. Senate, 'are legal.' The Kentucky Republican added, 'I think all of these are in jeopardy of being declared null and void in a court of law.' In reality, it's difficult to take any of Comer's rhetoric seriously, but given that these bizarre comments are coming from the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, the GOP congressman is at least letting the public know where his misguided investigation is likely to go next. This post updates our related earlier coverage. This article was originally published on
The Hill
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Third Biden aide refuses to answer Oversight questions: Comer
A third aide who served former President Biden while he was in the White House has refused to testify before a congressional panel, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said on Friday. Comer in a post on X said it was 'unbelievable' that Annie Tomasini, who served as deputy director of Oval Office Operations, and others refused to answer 'basic questions about … Biden's fitness to serve.' 'It's apparent they would rather hide key information to protect themselves and Joe Biden than be truthful with the American people about this historic scandal,' Comer said. 'There needs to be transparency and accountability, and we will continue to pursue the truth and examine options to get the answers we need,' he added. Comer said Tomasini invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked if she was instructed to lie about Biden's health or the handling of classified documents found in his garage. She was also asked if the former president or anyone in the White House instructed her to conceal or destroy classified material found at Biden's home or office, and if she ever conspired with anyone in the White House to hide information regarding the Biden family's business dealings, the Republican lawmaker added. Earlier this week, Anthony Bernal, informally known as former first lady Jill Biden's 'work husband,' refused to testify before the Oversight panel as did Kevin O'Connor, Biden's former doctor, earlier this month. The White House and Comer allege that Biden staffers helped cover up the former president's cognitive decline at the end of his term in office. Both Biden and Bernal have rejected the accusations. 'Most recently, the Committee seeks Mr. Bernal's testimony based on a purported controversy regarding use of the autopen at the conclusion of President Biden's term. President Biden has already confirmed that he personally made all decisions concerning his grants of clemency,' Bernal said in a statement sent to The Hill. 'While the Committee only recently began its autopen investigation, the Chairman has already declared that this matter is ' the biggest scandal in Oval Office history,'' he added. The former president shared similar sentiments during an interview published Sunday by The New York Times. 'Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false,' he told the news outlet.
Boston Globe
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Jill Biden aide invokes Fifth to decline testimony in Republican investigation
Advertisement Bernal ignored questions from reporters as he entered and exited the House Oversight Committee's hearing room on Capitol Hill. He was accompanied by his lawyer, Jonathan Su, who was a deputy White House counsel to the former president. Su in a statement provided to the committee noted that pleading the Fifth is not evidence of wrongdoing. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The former president has dismissed the inquiries as legally spurious. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Biden said that he delegated responsibilities when necessary as president but was actively involved and knowledgeable of all of his administration's actions, including on granting clemency. 'I consciously made all those decisions,' Biden said. Comer has has sought testimony from nearly a dozen former Biden aides as he conducts his investigation, including former White House chiefs of staff Ron Klain and Jeff Zients; former senior advisers Mike Donilon and Anita Dunn; former deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed, former counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, former deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini and a former assistant to the president, Ashley Williams. Advertisement On Tuesday, Comer also subpoenaed Annie Tomasini, a former White House deputy chief of staff, to appear before the committee on July 18. She is the third former official to be subpoenaed by the committee. Democrats have been dismissive of the Republican probe as mere political theater. 'They still look like losers,' said Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who sat in on Bernal's committee deposition. But many Republicans see the investigation as a top priority for their caucus and a politically salient issue for voters ahead of the midterm election. The Trump White House has launched its own probe into Biden's age while Senate Republicans have also held hearings on the topic. 'This is corruption at the highest level, because if you cannot answer a simple question about Joe Biden's capabilities, then that further demonstrates that he was not in charge of his administration,' said Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who sat in on Bernal's deposition. Donalds said 'every member of the Biden administration, at this point, needs to be subpoenaed,' including Vice President Kamala Harris and Jill Biden. Comer did not rule out seeking testimony from Harris or members of Biden's family. 'We're going to bring in everyone. We're moving up the line,' Comer said. 'We've started with the lower level staffers that we think were the ones that actually put the documents in the autopen and pressed power. Now we're moving up to the people that we think told the staffers to use the autopen.' Advertisement 'So we'll we'll see where that takes us,' Comer said. 'But I think the possibility is very good that we'll be asking members of the family to come in.' ___ Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed reporting.
The Hill
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Jill Biden ‘work husband' refuses to answer Oversight questions
Former first lady Jill Biden's chief of staff refused to answer questions during closed – door testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government reform on Wednesday morning. Committee Chair Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said Anthony Bernal pleaded the Fifth when GOP lawmakers asked him whether former President Biden ever instructed him to lie about his health or 'if any unelected official or family members executed the duties of the president.' 'It's no surprise that Anthony Bernal is pleading the Fifth Amendment to shield himself from criminal liability…,' Comer said in a statement, following months of criticism for Biden's staffers. 'This is a historic scandal and Americans demand transparency and accountability. We will continue to pursue the truth on their behalf and examine options to get the answers we need,' he added. Bernal is among those subpoenaed by Comer to compel his interview as part of the panel's investigation into Biden's mental acuity while in office and whether the 46th president was aware of documents signed with his 'autopen' signature. Kevin O'Connor, Biden's former doctor, also pleaded the Fifth to questions asked during his testimony before the same panel last week, which earned another rebuke from Comer. 'When Joe Biden's doctor was asked under oath whether he had ever been instructed to lie about Joe Biden's health, he pleaded the Fifth,' Comer posted on the social platform X. 'When questioned under oath about whether he believed Biden was fit to serve, he again pleaded the Fifth.' ' President Trump is right: this is the biggest scandal in Oval Office history,' Comer added. Trump has slammed his predecessor for using the autopen to sign pardons and official paperwork, while alleging someone else was partly in charge of adding Biden's signature to paperwork. Biden has rejected the whirlwind of accusations launched by the GOP after his Oval Office tenure. 'They're liars. They know it,' Biden told The New York Times in an interview published Sunday, in regards to claims outlining a mental decline during his final days as president. 'Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false,' he later told the outlet.
