James Comer’s Investigation May Be Faltering, but It’s Helping His Own Prospects

The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Congressman James Comer, has for more than a year now tried to prove that Hunter Biden was given money from overseas business partners for the explicit purpose of altering American foreign policy while President Biden was serving as vice president. Mr. Comer’s inability to prove that theory is likely to cause this investigation to end with a whimper, yet the chairman himself may still benefit handsomely. Welcome to Washington. Just over the course of the last few weeks, the chairman has been twisting in the wind thanks to the first son and his attorney, Abbe Lowell. First, the younger Mr. Biden made a surprise press appearance to talk to reporters, leaving Mr. Comer visibly flustered and frustrated on the same day he was supposed to take the priceless testimony of the Biden scion. Then, Mr. Biden appeared again, this time at the very hearing where Mr. Comer would move the ball forward on either compelling testimony or instigating the prosecution of the first son. On both occasions, Mr. Comer came off as a man with no control rather than the diligent investigator he wants to be. If the House does impeach the president — which is far from guaranteed with just a three-seat GOP majority — then Mr. Comer will no doubt serve as the lead impeachment manager for House Republicans during a Senate trial. Standing beside him will be his two fellow investigators, the chairmen of the Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees, Congressman Jim Jordan and Congressman Jason Smith. With a Democratic majority in the Senate and a sizable number of Republican senators saying they do not want to touch another impeachment, Mr. Comer’s task will be futile from the start. But for those who have served as impeachment managers, the rewards have been great. Senator Graham, at the time a Representative, served as an impeachment manager for Speaker Gingrich during President Clinton’s trial. Just a few short years later, Mr. Graham won a seat on the jury to which he had preached about the president’s adultery and lies. The lead impeachment manager of President Trump’s first trial, Congressman Adam Schiff, is also well on his way to becoming a United States senator. As a hero of the Trump-era college educated liberal class of suburbanites and professionals, Mr. Schiff was a mainstay on CNN and MSNBC for the better part of four years, but especially during that impeachment trial. Mr. Schiff has been rewarded by that same class of high-information voters — those who watch the news religiously and call their senators weekly — with $35 million in his Senate campaign war chest just weeks to go before the California jungle primary.Mr. Comer may soon find himself on a similar path. Just in the last quarter of 2023, he raised more than $1 million from all 50 states, and in 2026 — when Senator McConnell is widely expected to retire from the seat he has held for nearly four decades — Mr. Comer may have the chance to strike. He’ll likely stand out among the motley crew of Republicans hoping to succeed Mr. McConnell, which could include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-educated libertarian congressman, Thomas Massie, who is very much in the mold of Senator Paul but has a rocky relationship with Mr. Trump. Also on the list is Congressman Andy Barr — a completely foregetable backbencher representative who nonetheless has good relationships with Mr. McConnell and even Democrats in his home state of Kentucky. His ties to the McConnell orbit, however, may dissuade the 45th president from offering his support in the 2026 Republican senate primary. The former state attorney general who many expected to succeed Mr. McConnell, Daniel Cameron, is now viewed as a loser by Mr. Trump, who again, probably does not want himself associated with any more of Mr. McConnell’s friends and former staffers. And then walks in Mr. Comer in the early months of 2025 — fresh off a high-profile impeachment trial in the Senate that has allowed him to raise boatloads of money through his fundraising emails and constant exposure of Fox News and Newsmax. The man who dedicated his life to proving the Bidens are nothing more than a criminal syndicate is running for the Senate? Mr. Trump would happily jump on board with that campaign. Even if the Republicans lose the House in part because some Biden-district GOP members take the unsavory vote of impeaching the president, Mr. Comer himself will safely cruise to reelection in 2024. And just like that, the world is his oyster — no matter the intention, substance, or outcome of his investigation.

James Comer’s Investigation May Be Faltering, but It’s Helping His Own Prospects

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