Rep. James Comer (R-KY) on Tuesday called a Democratic lawmaker a "drama queen," blaming Democrats and deflecting from the ongoing calls to release the unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files after The Wall Street Journal shared a lewd doodle and note written and allegedly signed by President Donald Trump for Epstein's 50th birthday.
"Garcia, he's been on the job for about two weeks, he's proven to me to just be a real big drama queen...hopefully he'll mature up," Comer said in an interview with C-SPAN on Tuesday.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) clapped back via X, asking, "Is this because I’m gay?" He added a nail polish emoji for emphasis.
Republicans have claimed that the push to release the files is a "hoax." Trump had previously denied that the birthday note existed following the initial Journal report on July 17.
"The latest piece published by the Wall Street Journal PROVES this entire 'Birthday Card' story is false," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed on X Monday. "As I have said all along, it's very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it."
The Wall Street Journal and House Oversight Committee Democrats released documents and a birthday book Monday, further igniting questions over Trump's ties to the billionaire pedophile and sex offender — including a bawdy birthday message allegedly penned by Trump. The book also included letters from former President Bill Clinton, designer Vera Wang, and others.
Comer has previously been accused of doing Trump's "dirty work" to cover up his ties to Epstein.
Survivors have called for justice, and on X, users and lawmakers have called for transparency.
"The vast majority of Republicans in Congress are doing whatever it takes to protect their King, Trump. It’s a cult. Yesterday, thanks to the materials we received from the Epstein estate (which also only happened thanks to Oversight Dems and leadership from Robert Garcia), it turns out the disgusting birthday note from Trump to Epstein was in fact real," Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) wrote via X.
Ansari wrote that Comer issued the subpoena after he was forced to during a subcommittee meeting and that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) shut down Congress to avoid Epstein. And, after hearing from survivors directly, Republican members of the Oversight Committee continue to refuse to sign the discharge petition. She claimed they "feigned empathy" for the survivors.
"Donald Trump has always been and will always be a pathological liar. He’ll do anything to protect himself, his corrupt family, and his powerful friends. It’s that simple. I can only hope more of my colleagues will find the courage to recognize this before it’s too late," she said.
"He's a real drama queen, says the guy who spent two years holding hearings into 'the Biden crime family' and told us every few days that he'd uncovered the scandal of the century... but came up with nothing," editor and author Paul Carroll posted on X.
"Is anybody ever going to ask this white trash congressman with the 44 IQ and the XXXXL racist ego about beating up his girlfriend in college?" podcast host Keith Olbermann asked via X.
In 2015, Comer denied allegations and a report in the Louisville Courier-Journal that he was physically and mentally abusive to a former college girlfriend in the 1990s, Politico reported. He called the claim a "smear campaign" against him at the time of his gubernatorial campaign.
