The White House on Wednesday ripped GOP Reps. James Comer (Ky.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) for what it called “bizarre” congressional probes of President Biden and his family members, arguing that the investigations are politically motivated.
White House spokesperson Ian Sams said in a memo that Comer, who serves as the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and other members of the panel have “aggressively” pursued politically motivated investigations of Biden and his family that are designed to hurt Biden personally instead of look into potential wrongdoing.
“Despite insisting that their bizarre focus on the President and his family members – who are private citizens and do not work in the White House – is in fact about pursuing facts and examining alleged wrongdoing by the President, they have uncovered no evidence to support their claims,” Sams said.
He argued that Republicans are admitting that the investigations are not legitimate and only being pursued for political reasons by not turning up evidence.
Comer and committee Republicans earlier this month released a 36-page report that outlines their probe of the Biden family. The lawmakers alleged that foreign entities sent more than $10 million to companies associated with members of the Biden family based on bank records it obtained, but the report did not show any foreign money going directly to Biden or that the contributions affected policy decisions.
Sams also pointed to an interview that Comer gave Fox News on Monday in which he connected the investigation into the Biden family to the poll numbers showing former President Trump improving in his standing in a hypothetical matchup against Biden in 2024.
Most polling has consistently shown Trump and Biden in a relatively close race.
Sams also criticized Greene, another member of the committee, for selling merchandise with the words “Defund the FBI.” The committee issued a subpoena to the FBI earlier this month for an unspecified “alleged criminal scheme” involving Biden, and which the FBI declined to comply.
“This move to fundraise off the Oversight Committee’s subpoena activity reveals just how much this probe is motivated not by facts or the legitimate use of congressional resources or oversight responsibility but by pure politics,” Sams said.
He said “extreme MAGA Republicans” in the House are abusing their power in using “political stunts” to criticize Biden.
“It isn’t about legitimate oversight. It’s about – as Comer said – trying to bring down President Biden’s poll numbers,” he said.
A spokesperson for the committee said the records that the committee obtained show that nine members of the Biden family took part in or might have benefited from its “influence peddling schemes.”
“Bank records don’t lie but the Bidens do. President Biden and White House officials are attempting every desperate tactic to distract instead of providing answers to the American people,” the spokesperson said.
“No amount of Washington spin can change these facts or erase these bank records. The White House must provide the American people with transparency now. The Oversight Committee will continue to pursue the truth and accountability for the American people,” the spokesperson added.
The Hill has reached out to Greene for comment.