{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://comer.house.gov/2025/10/chairman-comer-blasts-democrats-for-smears-against-president-trump-urges-them-to-reopen-the-government", "Chairman Comer Blasts Democrats for Smears Against President Trump, Urges Them to Reopen the Government", "2025-10-29", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "House", "KY", "James Comer", "C001108", "comer.house.gov", "comer", "https://comer.house.gov/media", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014Today, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) to discuss the need for Senate Democrats to reopen the government and provide an update on the Committee\u2019s investigation of the federal government\u2019s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Chairman Comer emphasized that Democrats are attempting to distract from the fact that they shut down the government by pushing a false narrative about President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. Chairman Comer made it clear that the evidence gathered does not implicate President Trump in any way. He concluded by calling on Democrats to stop playing political games and reopen the government.\n\nBelow are Chairman Comer\u2019s prepared remarks.\n\nToday marks 21 days of the Schumer Shutdown.\n\nDemocrats\u2019 political games are hurting hardworking Americans.\n\nThis week, essential federal workers won\u2019t receive their paychecks because Democrats voted against paying them.\n\nThat includes Border Patrol and CBP agents, TSA and FAA staff, DOD civilians, FEMA responders, and Capitol Police officers.\n\nThe overwhelming majority of Americans oppose this Democrat shutdown.\n\nDemocrats know it, so they\u2019re trying to distract from the fact that they shut down the government by pushing a false narrative about President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.\n\nLet me be clear: No one is protecting Epstein or his associates.\n\nThe House Oversight Committee is conducting a thorough review of the federal government\u2019s handling of the Epstein investigation\u2014one that goes far beyond the discharge petition the Legacy Media is obsessed with.\n\nTo date, the Oversight Committee has released roughly 43,000 pages of documents and issued 13 subpoenas.\n\nWe\u2019ve conducted a deposition with former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and a transcribed interview with former U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta.\n\nAnd guess what? Those interviews completely debunk the Democrats\u2019 smear against President Trump.\n\nBarr stated there was no evidence that President Trump was involved in Epstein\u2019s criminal activity.\n\nAcosta confirmed there was no contact with President Trump during the Florida case\u2014no link, no conversations, nothing.\n\nDespite these facts, Democrats, especially Ranking Member Garcia, continue to spread lies about President Trump. They\u2019re infected with an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.\n\nOversight Committee Democrats post daily about Epstein. In fact, they\u2019ve posted or reposted about Epstein nearly 60 times on X since the shutdown began.\n\nDo you know how many times they\u2019ve posted about essential federal workers not receiving paychecks because they voted against funding the government? Once.\n\nLet\u2019s be clear: Democrats don\u2019t care about transparency or accountability in this matter. The evidence we\u2019ve gathered does not implicate President Trump in any way.\n\nPublic reporting, survivor testimony, and official documents show that Bill Clinton had far closer ties to Epstein and Maxwell.\n\nWe\u2019re working to bring Bill Clinton in for a deposition, but Democrats aren\u2019t helping to get him here.\n\nWhy is that? That\u2019s a question every reporter should be asking Ranking Member Garcia and every Democrat on the committee.\n\nThe Oversight Committee remains committed to accountability and transparency for the American people and for Epstein\u2019s victims.\n\nOur investigation hasn\u2019t stopped during the shutdown. In fact, we released more documents just this past Friday.\n\nDemocrats need to stop playing games and vote to reopen the government.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://comer.house.gov/2025/10/chairman-comer-blasts-democrats-for-smears-against-president-trump-urges-them-to-reopen-the-government"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.305097946897149, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}