Next House Oversight Chair Says Mar-a-Lago Documents Not Top Priority (Newsmax)
By Brian Pfail | Monday, 21 November 2022 06:24 PM EST
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., who is on track to become chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee next year, said the committee would not prioritize its efforts into the classified documents seized by the FBI at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
“That will not be a priority,” Comer told CNN in an interview, adding that the committee is “just waiting to see what comes out of that.”
The House Oversight and Reform Committee chaired by outgoing Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., has been investigating Trump’s mishandling of presidential records for several months. The probe is separate from the Department of Justice’s investigation, which had the nation's attention in August after the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago.
In September, Maloney sent a letter to the acting archivist of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Debra Steidel Wall, urging her to obtain a “personal certification” from Trump that he relinquished all presidential records he removed from the White House. Maloney also requested a group to do “an urgent review” of the recovered documents.
The letter came after reports that Trump’s attorney’s misled investigators on the possessed classified documents, and there were empty folders meant for classified materials.
In August, Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee wrote a letter to Wall asking for clarity over its role in the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago.
Asked if he believes NARA when it says it does not do matters based on politics, Comer told CNN, “we’ll have to wait and see.”
“I know that the day that National Archives met with Carolyn Maloney was the day that they contacted the DOJ about their concern. So, I don’t know,” Comer told the network. “I don’t get involved in a lot of the drama from the last administration.”
Comer is anticipated to become the chair when Republicans take control of the House. Republicans have promised several investigations to come.
The potential targets include Hunter Biden, the Biden family’s business activities with Ukraine, politicization in the DOJ, the origins of COVID-19, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the border crisis and the Biden administration’s policies.