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Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) stood by the president as the Trump Organization faces questions over the sources of its recent cryptocurrency windfall. During a Tuesday appearance on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” Comer praised President Donald Trump for his “transparency” after a Reuters examination revealed his family’s business empire collected more than $800 million from sales of crypto assets in the first half of 2025. “We’re reading about this, we’re trying to digest it,” Comer told Tapper. “The difference between the way the Trump family is operating and the Biden family is, they’re admitting they’re doing this.” In 2023, Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, launched an investigation into then-President Joe Biden over his family’s alleged foreign “influence peddling” scheme. The committee presented bank records showing that during and after Joe Biden’s vice presidency, Hunter Biden and several of his associates earned about $23 million through financial arrangements in Ukraine, China, Romania, and other countries. The records did not show that any of the payments went to Joe Biden, who later pardoned Hunter for separate federal charges of tax evasion and illegal firearm purchase. Now, it’s Trump who is facing similar scrutiny over his family’s business deals. The Trump Organization has seen a dramatic surge in earnings this year. According to a Reuters analysis of official financial records, the Trump Organization’s revenue soared to $864 million in the first half of 2025 from $51 million in all of 2024. Roughly $802 million (92.8%) of the organization’s revenues came from its crypto ventures, including sales of its World Liberty tokens. Prior to taking office on Jan. 20, 2025, Trump transferred control of his sprawling business empire to his sons Donald Jr. and Eric. Despite the president’s divestment, legal experts and White House critics have raised concerns about foreign investors purchasing hundreds of millions in Trump Organization crypto assets. “These people are not pouring money into coffers of the Trump family business because of the brothers’ acumen,” Washington University law professor Kathleen Clark told Reuters. “They are doing it because they want freedom from legal constraints and impunity that only the president can deliver.” Ron Filipowski, an ardent Trump critic and editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch.com, called Comer’s comments “disgusting.” “Blatant corruption at the highest level in plain sight and Oversight Chair Comer Pyle morphs into a combination of Mr. Magoo and Sgt. Schultz,” Filipowski wrote in a post on X. Former NBCUniversal executive Mike Sington also criticized Comer’s defense in a post on X: “Comer says the head-spinning amount of money that Trump and his family have made this year off of cryptocurrency is okay because they’re doing it out in the open.” Comer said he does share some ethical concerns, but that Trump “campaigned as a business guy.” “I’m not defending the policy,” Comer said Tuesday on CNN. “I think there needs to be ethics reforms. ... As long as you disclose your income and disclose the sources, I think that’s acceptable.” Comer added that “a lot of people are concerned, especially since the crypto industry isn’t regulated.” ”But my position is, as long as the president is disclosing this and they’re filling out disclosures and they’re answering questions," Comer said. “He (Trump) answers questions about it.”
