Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., called on Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., House Oversight Committee chairman, to “do his damn job” after Democrats on the panel organized a field hearing in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday to hear from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. During an appearance on MS NOW, Frost accused Comer of stalling the committee’s probe into the late sex offender.
Frost said Comer was “engaged in obstructing this investigation and completely doing everything he can to help the White House cover this up.”
“I wouldn’t have said that maybe five or six months ago,” Frost told Ali Velshi on Tuesday. “He still, of course, was always giving the president the benefit of the doubt, but what we’ve seen over the last few months is despicable.”
The congressman explained why Democrats held what he referred to as a “shadow hearing,” telling Velshi that as the minority party, they do not have the power to schedule official proceedings for the committee.
“Everyone should know it was all Democrats today,” Frost said. “We want to host this here in D.C., but James Comer doesn’t want to call any more hearings, because he knows that we would be able to successfully issue more subpoenas to move this investigation forward.”
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As Frost explained, Republicans on the committee have shifted away from formal hearings.
“He’s done this despicable thing where we haven’t had a hearing in a long time, and he’s hosting what he calls round tables, which are unofficial hearings that are actually off the record, not under oath, and he’s only calling those because he doesn’t want us to move the Epstein investigation forward,” he said.
Frost said if Democrats gain the majority, they would “be able to call all the hearings we want. We’ll be able to put forth all the subpoenas we want, and we won’t have to sit here and essentially demand and beg of the chair to do his damn job.”
You can watch Frost’s full interview in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. She was previously a segment producer for “AYMAN” and “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”