Rep. Comer tells NBC News reporter he should be on Biden’s ‘legal defense team’ in tense exchange
House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told NBC News reporter Ryan Nobles to go work for Biden’s legal team in a tense argument on Wednesday over whether President Biden was involved in his son Hunter Biden’s business ventures.
House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told NBC News reporter Ryan Nobles to go work for Biden’s legal team in a tense argument on Wednesday over whether President Biden was involved in his son Hunter Biden’s business ventures.
The animated exchange happened after a morning deposition hearing between Hunter Biden and House Oversight and Judiciary Committees on Capitol Hill Wednesday, with Comer and Nobles sparring over whether the president committed any wrongdoing.
At one point during the back-and-forth, Comer accused Nobles of being a pro-Biden activist and encouraged him to work for Biden based on how adamant the reporter seemed to be that there was no evidence the senior Biden was implicated.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., squabbles with an NBC News journalist over evidence that President Biden benefited his son's business dealings while he was vice president. (Press pool)
The exchange began with Nobles asking, "Mr. Chairman, what evidence do you have that either, as vice president or as president, Joe Biden used his political office in any way to benefit either Hunter or James Biden’s business dealings?"
"Well, we have evidence that Joe Biden met with the Chinese -," Comer responded before being cut off by Nobles.
"But what specific actions did he take as a public official?" he interjected.
"We’ve had several people already testify though," Comer said.
"But what actually — how did — how was Americore helped — how was this Chinese business helped by the fact that Joe Biden is vice president…?" Nobles followed-up.
"Okay, so — so let me ask you a question. You mentioned Americore Health. Does anyone in here question whether or not that was influence paddling? Does anyone question that? No," Comer responded.
Nobles shot back, "There’s a lot of questions about it, sir. Because there was no evidence that Joe Biden did anything as a public official."
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Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, departs a House Oversight Committee meeting at Capitol Hill on January 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Growing more animated, the lawmaker said, "He got $200,000."
The crosstalk got heavy as Nobles interjected, "But what did he do as a public individual?" He then added that Biden wasn’t vice president at the time of the alleged influence peddling.
"Listen. Look, you can — you can defend Joe Biden all day long. You can defend Joe Biden," Comer said, appearing to grow frustrated with his hand held up. "You can be on his legal defense team. Kevin Morris will probably pay your legal bills if you want."
Morris is the entertainment lawyer Hunter Biden's financial benefactor.
Nobles laughed at the line, but then kept sparring with the chairman, declaring, "You’re not answering my question."
"No, I am answering your question. You don’t – you – you don’t understand what we’ve said over and over and over. Joe Biden took $200,000 directly from Americore Health," the lawmaker said.
The reporter continued to dispute that Biden got these funds while he was vice president, and both men continued to quarrel, with Nobles raising his voice at points.
The lawmaker then said, "Hey, calm down. Calm down. It’s OK. It’s OK. All the angry liberals hear what you’re saying — they’ll be all right."