James Comer blasts Democrats’ investigation into Trump’s America 250 bash
WASHINGTON, DC: The battle over America's 250th anniversary celebration has shifted from celebration to confrontation.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer recently mounted a vigorous defense of Donald Trump against Democrats’ accusations that the President used the nation’s anniversary celebration for political and financial gain.
The accusation stems from Rep. Jared Huffman’s report, which alleges that Trump transformed the celebration into a partisan spectacle that advanced his political and religious agenda.
James Comer mounts Trump’s defense
Reflecting on the report, Comer blasted the investigation, noting that Democrats’ attacks reflect hatred for the president rather than love of country.
“[Democrats] would rather Donald Trump fail, and America fail than celebrate the success of our founding fathers and the fact that we are the greatest nation on the planet,” Comer told “The Big Weekend Show.”
“We are the greatest nation in the history of the world. Anyone can become anything in America because of the sacrifices of our founding fathers, the sacrifices of our soldiers, the sacrifices of our American heroes, and that’s what last night was all about,” he continued.
“Oversight is in full swing,” he said, responding to Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle’s insistence that oversight will come if Democrats win.
“We are investigating waste, fraud, and abuse. That’s what the Oversight Committee is about…” he added.
“President Trump made the focus about honoring our heroes and being proud to be an American, and all the Democrats want to do is say, ‘If you vote for us, we’ll investigate Trump for wasting money on an independent celebration that, by the way, mentioned Christianity, even though our country was founded by people seeking freedom of religion.’ So this is just a perfect example of the Democrats, and I think that all they’re going to do if they flip the House and become the majority in the House is investigate and harass Donald Trump.”
Democrats accuse Trump of using America 250 bash for financial gain
Huffman, the leading Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, escalated the controversy by unveiling a 55-page report accusing Trump of repurposing the America 250 celebration as a partisan platform to amplify his political and religious agenda.
In a press release accompanying the report, Committee Democrats said it was the result of "months of investigative work" into Trump's handling of the America 250 celebration.
They accused the president of having "hijacked what was supposed to be a unifying, non-political celebration" and instead making it "all about him" through his "political and religious agenda," business ventures, and associates who allegedly benefited from public funds.
According to the release, the Trump administration established a "shadow organization" called Freedom 250 LLC after the America 250 Commission allegedly "refused to bend to the President's demands," placing the new entity at the heart of the national celebrations.
It alleged the group used the nation’s semiquincentennial to sell access to Trump, redirect donor money intended for America250, and enrich Trump allies through lucrative contracts.
Some Democrats have signaled the effort could face congressional scrutiny if Democrats regain the House majority in November.
