The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Congressman James Comer, is being criticized by Democrats for his subpoena of a wealthy, California-based Democratic Party donor after she purchased an undisclosed number of Hunter Biden’s paintings, which he began selling for as much as $500,000 after he took up painting as part of his recovery from addiction.

Democrats say the timing of the subpoena of Elizabeth Naftali is inappropriate because her niece, 3, is one of Hamas’s hostages at Gaza.

Ms.  Naftali, a real estate heiress and donor to President Biden’s campaign, was first disclosed as a patron of the younger Mr. Biden’s nascent art career by Insider earlier this year. In July 2022, Mr. Biden appointed Ms. Naftali to the prestigious Commision for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad. It’s not clear if her appointment came before or after her purchase of the younger Mr. Biden’s art. Mr. Comer says Ms. Naftali’s art purchase and committee appointment is an example of the Bidens’ “influence-peddling scheme.”

In August, Ms. Naftali’s Washington-based attorney claimed that she “purchased the artwork simply because she liked the art, and the prices were reasonable.” He said she was appointed to the committee because of her “intellect and advocacy” against antisemitism.

Much of the work of the commission to which Ms. Naftali was appointed concerns the preservation of Holocaust memorials in Eastern Europe. 

Democrats on the Oversight Committee are saying Ms. Naftali should not be hauled before the committee because of her niece’s captivity.

“Elizabeth Naftali’s three-year-old niece is currently being held hostage by Hamas, yet James Comer is spending his time subpoenaing a private citizen as part of his wild goose chase rather than working to return her family from captivity,” an Oversight Committee Democrat, Congressman Dan Goldman, wrote on X. “This is a new low from House Republicans.”

The top Democrat on the committee, Congressman Jamie Raskin, called the subpoenas for Ms. Naftali a fishing expedition. “These subpoenas and interview requests are yet further proof that this sham impeachment inquiry is driven only by the demands of the vengeful and prevaricating Donald Trump,” Mr. Raskin said in a statement. “Chairman Comer has decided what he needs to jump-start this epic flop of an investigation is a big pile of subpoenas and interview requests, all to private citizens.”

Mr. Comer’s committee was unmoved. In a statement made to the Hill, an Oversight Committee spokesman said, “Instead of politicizing a serious hostage situation, Representative Goldman should focus more on fulfilling his oversight responsibility to root out corruption in the Biden Administration. … Not only has Ms. Naftali donated thousands of dollars to Rep. Goldman’s campaign, but she remains an important figure in the Biden family’s influence peddling schemes after her decision to purchase Hunter Biden’s artwork. The Oversight Committee expects Ms. Naftali to comply with the lawful subpoena.”  

In a letter sent last week to Ms. Naftali — who was granted anonymity, unsuccessfully, by Mr. Biden’s gallerist when she purchased the art — and her legal team, Mr. Comer said his committee has every right to pursue a subpoena after she refused to give information to the committee earlier this year. 

“Ms. Naftali’s anonymity regarding her purchase of Hunter Biden’s art is no more and her position on a prestigious commission within the Biden Administration raises the Committees’ concerns,” Mr. Comer wrote.  

“To date, your client has refused to provide any of the requested information,” he continued. “The Committees therefore intend to question Ms. Naftali, among other things, about her purchase of Hunter Biden’s artwork and her appointment to the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad.”

Ms. Naftali is not the only person in the first son’s art orbit to be subpoenaed by the committee. Mr. Biden’s gallerist, who helped sell his art for hundreds of thousands of dollars, George Bergès, is set to appear before Mr. Comer and his colleagues for a closed-door deposition in the coming weeks after he received a subpoena. 

A spokesman for the Oversight Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment about what exact information or records Mr. Comer is seeking from Ms. Naftali and Mr. Bergès. 

In July, though, Mr. Comer did send a letter to Ms. Naftali asking her to provide all communications she had with Mr. Bergès’s gallery about her purchase of the art, as well as all communications she had with the White House about her appointment to the commission. 

In January, Mr. Comer asked Mr. Bergès to supply the committee with records about who may have purchased the art and how much money Mr. Biden made from those transactions. “It is concerning that President Biden’s son is the recipient of anonymous, high-dollar transactions — potentially from foreign buyers — with no accountability or oversight (other than you),” Mr. Comer wrote.