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Things got heated on the House floor Thursday when U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., confronted California Democrat Adam Schiff over the Russia probe and the overseas business dealings of Hunter Biden, according to a report.
Comer accused Schiff of trying to “peddle” information to discredit former President Donald Trump during recent years, while Schiff insinuated that Comer was ignoring alleged actions by Trump associates in support of the former president.
Later, after Comer suggested Schiff was ignoring the business history of Hunter Biden, the president’s son, the Democrat tried to shift the attention to past accusations against Donald Trump Jr.
The showdown came as House members were debating the Protecting Our Democracy Act, a Democrat-backed bill intended to limit presidential authority, in response to actions taken by Trump while he was in office, the Examiner reported.
Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, led the panel’s investigation into possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election. Comer serves as ranking member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
U.S. Reps. James Comer, R-Ky. (left), and Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
Thursday’s confrontation between Comer and Schiff was reported by the Washington Examiner.
“Every time Chairman Schiff rises to speak on a bill about intelligence and security and holding the president accountable, I get excited hoping we’re going to hear about that evidence of collusion and all the other investigations that were conducted in the House,” Comer said, making reference to claims against the Trump campaign that were later discredited.
Schiff responded by defending the investigations he led, according to the Examiner.
“Are you aware that the president’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, met with an agent of Russian intelligence and provided Russian intelligence with internal campaign polling data, as well as strategic insights about their intelligence in key battleground states? Are you aware of that?” Schiff replied.
Comer fired back: “I think everyone is aware of every bit on information that you have tried to peddle over the last four years,” the Republican said.
“I think everyone is aware of every bit on information that you have tried to peddle over the last four years.”
“Are you aware that while the Trump campaign chairman was providing internal polling data, that Kremlin intelligence was leading a clandestine social media campaign to elect Donald Trump?” Schiff answered.
“I think we see every day … Facebook just announced that Russia was trying to do a Facebook campaign in Ukraine, if I remember reading that correctly,” Comer shot back.
‘Are you aware?’
The Republican then shifted the focus to Hunter Biden, son of the president, and his overseas business dealings, details of which the Trump 2020 campaign used to make its case against Democrat Joe Biden winning the White House.
“Are you aware of President Biden’s son Hunter’s art dealings? Are you aware of the president’s son’s dealings … in Congo with the cobalt mine? Are you aware of the dealings in Ukraine?” Comer asked Schiff.
“I am aware of President Trump’s son meeting secretly in Trump Tower New York with a Russian delegation with the purpose of receiving dirt on Hillary Clinton, which the Russian delegation represented was part of the Russian government’s effort to help elect Donald Trump in 2016,” Schiff said, “and I am aware that … Donald Trump Jr. said in response to that Russian offer of dirt on Donald Trump’s opponent that he would love it, suggested the best time would be in late summer, and had a secret meeting in Trump Tower. And when asked about that secret meeting, both the president and his son lied about it. Are you aware about those facts?”
“I think that everyone’s seen all the information, again, that you all have peddled,” Comer responded. “I’m curious if you would like to make a wager on which president’s child, which president’s son, at the end of the day, once we have the gavel, will … be the most security risk to our nation.”
“I’m happy to continue to outline the contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia, their solicitation of Russian help in the election, the former president’s effort to coerce Ukraine into helping him cheat in the election,” Schiff said.
“They have spent a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of tax dollars on trying to peddle a lot of wrongdoing in the previous administration,” Comer replied.
‘Coffee-shop caliber’
In November, Comer wrote an Opinion essay for Fox News, arguing that the American public deserved to know why art works by Hunter Biden were selling for seemingly inflated prices.
“Paintings that some art experts have characterized as being of coffee-shop caliber,” Comer wrote.
He suggested the art sales could be providing a way for foreign agents and others “to access Hunter Biden, and through him the Oval Office.”
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Also in November, Schiff said during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he had no regrets about hyping the infamous Steele dossier during the Russia probe even though its contents were later largely called into question.
“I don’t regret saying that we should investigate claims of someone who, frankly, was a well-respected British intelligence officer,” Schiff responded. “And we couldn’t have known, of course, years ago that we would learn years later that someone who is a primary source lied to him.”
Fox News’ Jessica Chasmar contributed to this story.
