GOP Oversight Committee Chair James Comer Defends Business Accused Of Being Shell Company: 'It's 100% Legitimate'

House Oversight Committee Chair, James Comer, rejected allegations that one of his businesses is merely a shell company.

What Happened: Comer is in the spotlight over his stake in Farm Team Properties, a company primarily leasing five properties to hunters. However, in an interview with The Hill, he insisted that the business, co-owned with his wife, is a legitimate operation aimed at safeguarding his farmland from legal repercussions.

Comer defended the company, asserting that it was founded on the counsel of his accountant and lawyer to lease his farmland for hunting. "I have all this farmland that's in a sole proprietorship. And then a few years ago, my accountant and a lawyer said you need to form an LLC because I started leasing my farmland for hunting," Comer said.

"Three weeks ago during deer season in Kentucky, I probably had 75 men that climbed up in a tree at 4:30 in the morning in the pitch dark to sit in the tree stand to try to kill a deer."

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"I have five properties in there, and it brings in lots of revenue from hunting leases. And it was set up because that's what any accountant or any lawyer would advise if you have a bunch of people from out of town that you don't know on your property. So it's 100% legitimate."

Last week, The Associated Press reported that Comer bought a half stake in a six-acre land for $128,000 in 2015 from Darren Cleary, a friend and campaign contributor. The partnership sold an acre of the land for $150,000 last year.

Comer’s office reaffirmed that the company is “actively engaged in the business of land management, including hunting leasing, and real estate speculation, primarily in farmland.”

Why It Matters: Comer’s business dealings continue to come under intense scrutiny, particularly due to his role in probing the Biden family’s businesses. Earlier in December, the House Oversight Committee Republicans, under Comer’s leadership, highlighted payments made from Hunter Biden‘s company, Owasco PC, to his father, President Joe Biden, during his tenure out of office, alleging impropriety that these payments appear to be for a car

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Hunter Biden chose to defy a subpoena from House Republicans by making a public statement at the Capitol complex rather than attending his scheduled closed-door deposition.

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