When Rep. James Comer (R-KY) made the rounds on primetime conservative cable TV on Monday night, it was to divulge details of what Republicans called a bombshell day for their investigations into the Biden family.
On Capitol Hill earlier that day, members of the House Oversight Committee privately interviewed Devon Archer, a longtime business partner of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.
When Fox News’ Sean Hannity asked Comer about “major takeaways” from the interview, Comer delved into what Archer had told the committee, claiming that it had made an alleged Biden “bribery scandal… more credible.”
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In another Monday night interview on Newsmax, host Greg Kelly claimed that Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY), who participated in the interview, looked “spooked” afterward.
“You were in the room,” Kelly told Comer. “Are these guys recognizing that this is beyond their control now?”
“The walls are closing in on the Bidens,” Comer responded.
What Comer failed to mention was that he wasn’t actually in the room for his committee’s big interview with Archer.
According to two sources familiar with the proceeding, Comer failed to show up in person on Capitol Hill, and he did not participate remotely.
Comer, the chairman of the Oversight Committee, has been the face of the GOP’s investigations into Hunter Biden, and he had hyped the Archer interview as perhaps the biggest moment yet in the party’s efforts to prove that the Bidens had leveraged their power and influence for personal gain.
And yet, just like Comer, the vast majority of the Oversight panel’s membership did not attend either, with the interview taking place in Washington on the first Monday of the extended summer recess.
Still, Republicans seemed shocked that the man running the investigation could not find time in his schedule to show up for a key interview, with one source telling The Daily Beast it was like a general abandoning his troops during battle.
“A few Republicans were disappointed that Chairman Comer didn’t show up to the Archer transcribed interview,” a senior GOP source told The Daily Beast.
“It was like following a general into battle, but the general decided to stay home instead of fight,” the source continued. “Especially when there are other Members who would love to have interviewed Archer but aren’t on the Oversight Committee and not allowed in the room.”
Reached for comment, an Oversight Committee spokesman confirmed Comer was not there. “Transcribed interviews are primarily staff led and Chairman Comer had scheduled commitments with constituents in Kentucky,” they said.
According to one source, Rep, Jim Jordan (R-OH)—who chairs the House Judiciary Committee but is a senior member of the Oversight panel—was present for most of the interview. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), a leader of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, was, too. No other Republican members came.
While it is true that committee staff often do the bulk of questioning in closed-door interviews with witnesses, when it comes to high-profile investigations, lawmakers often come and participate, most of all the chairman or ranking member of the committee.
Ahead of the interview, Comer appeared to have other obligations besides preparing for Archer’s questioning. In a photo posted to his Instagram page on Sunday, Comer was eating barbeque with a friend. The caption said they had been “battling all weekend” in a golf tournament held in his hometown of Tompkinsville, Kentucky.
The Kentucky Republican’s failure to show up for the Archer interview will likely add to questions about his performance as leader of the House GOP’s all-important investigations into the Biden family and administration.
Since beginning investigative work in January, Comer has faced criticism and scrutiny from right-wing political and media figures for not uncovering the kind of damning information about the Bidens that they promised.
In June, former Trump adviser and far-right influencer Steve Bannon torched Comer for what he viewed as a subpar interview on Fox News, in which he discussed his investigations. “You are not serious,” Bannon said of Comer. “It’s all performative.”
Since then—with Trump now facing three criminal indictments—House Republicans have coalesced around their own Biden investigations, arguing they form the basis for a possible impeachment inquiry into the incumbent president.
Archer is key to those plans. From 2014 to 2016, Archer served with Hunter Biden on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, which was the focal point of Trump’s attempt to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for dirt on the Bidens, leading to his first impeachment.
In June, Comer issued a subpoena for Archer’s testimony. Republicans believed he would provide key details about Hunter’s work for Burisma and the extent to which his father was aware of that work. Ultimately, the GOP’s goal was to support their still-unfounded claim that Biden was bribed to call for the ouster of a prosecutor who was investigating Burisma.
According to reports of the interview, Archer told the committee that Hunter was selling to interested parties the “illusion” of access to his father, a comment that was interpreted vastly differently by the Republican and Democratic sides of the panel.
The Archer interview grew even more politically important to Republicans the next day, when Trump was indicted in D.C. federal court for his attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 election. On Tuesday evening, a number of top GOP lawmakers referred to the Archer interview, and the alleged bombshells it contained, to deflect from Trump’s indictment and to claim the Department of Justice was trying to distract from the Hunter case.
In his interview with Newsmax’s Kelly, the night before the indictment, Comer continued to play up details of the meeting he did not attend.
Archer, Comer said, “was under a lot of pressure today.”
“But despite that, I think he answered a lot of questions that needed to be answered,” Comer said. “This was a bombshell today.”
