Rep. James Comer (R-KY) is catching heat from all sides after launching a personal attack on Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) for demanding the release of the unredacted Epstein file.
Instead of addressing the explosive contents of those documents — which include a crude birthday note allegedly written by Donald Trump — Comer lashed out, calling Garcia a “drama queen” during a Tuesday interview on C-SPAN.
“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, dismissing the California Democrat’s calls for transparency.
Garcia, who is openly gay, fired back on X (formerly Twitter), asking pointedly, “Is this because I’m gay?” and added a nail polish emoji for emphasis.
The exchange lit a fire online and in Congress, where many saw Comer’s comment as a weak attempt to deflect from the disturbing contents of newly released Epstein estate documents. Those materials — shared by House Oversight Committee Democrats and reported by The Wall Street Journal — include a birthday book from Epstein’s 50th party. Among the entries: a vulgar drawing and lewd message allegedly signed by Trump.
Trump had previously denied the note even existed, but the documents appear to contradict him — and it’s not just Democrats saying so. The Journal published an image of the message, raising new questions about the president’s relationship with the convicted sex offender.
Still, Trump allies like Comer continue circling the wagons in an attempt to shield the president from accountability.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed Monday on X, “The latest piece published by the Wall Street Journal PROVES this entire ‘Birthday Card’ story is false. As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it.”
That line didn’t fly with Democratic lawmakers.
“The vast majority of Republicans in Congress are doing whatever it takes to protect their King, Trump. It’s a cult,” said Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ). “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.”
Ansari went further, accusing Comer of dragging his feet on the investigation until he was forced to act during a subcommittee meeting. She also slammed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for shutting down Congress to avoid dealing with the Epstein revelations.
After hearing directly from Epstein survivors, Ansari said GOP members “feigned empathy” but still refused to sign a discharge petition that would force more disclosures.
“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.
Online, the reaction to Comer’s attack on Garcia was even more blunt.
“He’s a real drama queen,” posted author Paul Carroll. “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.”
And then came the hammer from podcast host Keith Olbermann: “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?”
Olbermann was referencing 2015 allegations reported by the Louisville Courier-Journal, where a former college girlfriend accused Comer of physical and emotional abuse in the 1990s. Comer denied the claims, calling them part of a “smear campaign” during his Kentucky gubernatorial run.
With Epstein survivors demanding justice, and new documents tying Trump closer to the notorious sex-trafficker, Comer’s focus on petty insults instead of real oversight is drawing outrage — and not just from Democrats.
As Rep. Garcia later posted on X, “I guess calling out Trump’s lies really rattled him.”
