Politics
‘You look like a smurf’: Lawmakers get personal over Biden finances
By CM Chaney · November 15, 2023
In brief…
- Rep. Moskowitz and Rep. Comer got into heated exchange over personal finances during committee hearing
- Moskowitz pressed Comer about loans to family member, Comer strongly denied allegations
- Comer challenged Moskowitz's claims as misinformation, Moskowitz questioned different rules for Biden
- Spokespersons afterwards accused the other side of distraction, disinformation, and needing "mental health day"
A contentious exchange broke out Tuesday during a House Oversight Committee hearing between Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and committee chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) over issues of personal finances and accusations of corruption.
The confrontation began when Moskowitz referred to Comer’s previous statement that the Biden administration “can’t have it both ways,” yielding time to Comer to explain loans he allegedly provided a family member.
“You retweeted that story, completely false, I’ve never loaned my brother one penny,” Comer said, explaining that his father owned farmland.
Comer explained his brother wanted to keep family farmland, so Comer acquired it through bank loans, denying other accusations like owning a shell company, which he called “BS.”
He contrasted his actions with alleged Biden family financial dealings, saying, “I went to the bank and I borrowed money I bought that land. I didn’t get wires from Romania, China, my family doesn’t get wires…but you and Goldman who is ‘Mr. Trust Fund’ try to discredit.”
As the two lawmakers continued shouting over each other, Comer refused to yield back time to Moskowitz, accusing him of spreading misinformation.
“No, I’m not going to give you your time back,” Comer said. “We can stop the clock. You look like a smurf here just going around and all this stuff.”
Moskowitz questioned whether different rules apply to Comer versus President Biden.
“You’ve have gone on TV and said something the president did is illegal, you’re doing stuff with your brother,” Moskowitz shouted as Comer continued to speak.
“You’re welcome to investigate anything you want to do,” Comer said.
“We’re supposed to take your word for it, but when the president says something, he’s not telling the truth,” Moskowitz said.
The heated exchange concluded with both lawmakers challenging the other to provide evidence or testify regarding their finances and businesses.
Moskowitz suggested Comer may have acted improperly while Comer focused on Moskowitz previously stating allegations as fact.
Afterwards, Comer’s spokesperson accused Moskowitz of “disinformation” and a distraction from investigating the Biden family, while Moskowitz’s statement dismissed Comer’s behavior as needing “a mental health day.”
The fiery exchange highlighted ongoing partisan tensions in Congress and disagreements over investigating President Biden versus allegations of Republican misconduct.