There’s a concept in journalism of a “beat sweetener,” a puff piece about a powerful person or organization that is usually designed to ensure that a reporter or outlet gets exclusive scoops in the future because the subject is about to become very influential and therefore newsworthy. Outlets publish these types of stories all the time, often reading like a press release aiming to smooth over any prior negative coverage.

Politico published a textbook example of the genre on August 11, profiling Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who is expected to chair the powerful House Oversight Committee if Republicans win back the majority in the November midterm elections.

Before laying out who Comer is, what he believes, and recent comments of his, it’s worth examining how embarrassingly flattering and uncritical this profile is in describing “the GOP's future king of Biden investigations.”

“It’s easy to see why” Comer has “charmed many on the Hill,” Politico writes. Comer is “a sharp and affable colleague” with “personal appeal” and quick “to crack a well-timed joke that’s often at his own expense.” He’s not just a nice guy, though – “it’s his priority to ensure the oversight panel’s work remains ‘credible.’” Politico tells us Comer is “particularly well-suited to the task according to more than two dozen” of his Republican colleagues, in fact. Politico then gave Comer a chance to tell readers just how serious and professional he is.

“I’m not going to be chasing some of these right-wing blogs and some of their conspiracy theories,” he told Politico. He added that he wouldn’t pursue any investigations “unless we have proof."

The rest of the piece goes on like that until the 18th paragraph, with only a single, mild, passing criticism offered as balance, namely that he “lean[s] into partisan talking points, like describing the intelligence community as a ‘deep state’ on Newsmax after the FBI’s search of Trump’s home on Monday.”

But alas, there is a lot about Comer that Politico left out. Although he may claim that he’s not chasing far-right conspiracy theories, his record shows otherwise.

Particularly of note is that last month Comer appeared on Sean Hannity’s radio show and appeared to endorse the racist, antisemitic “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory.

“We believe there are a lot of nongovernment organizations who are working with this administration to transport these illegals all over the United States,” Comer said. “And I believe that this is part of their political business model to try to repopulate many of these states to be able to regain control or pad their margins.”

After a break, Hannity and Comer returned to the topic, at which point Hannity was even more explicit in his belief in the racist theory.

“Is this that the Democrats want to offer something of great value to people that don't respect our laws, our borders, our sovereignty – and that being citizenship?” Hannity asked. “Because it sounds like it, and it sounds like they are doing: ‘So hey, we'll give you citizenship. We hope you vote for us.’ That's what it sounds like to me.”

Comer agreed with the host. “That's what it sounds like to me, and I think most Americans are seeing that,” Comer said. “If 3 million illegals have crossed over to the United States, just since Joe Biden's become president – Sean, that's four new congressional districts. Four new congressional districts. So this is political. This is a political plan for the Democrats.”

Comer then argued that undocumented people, including children, are a drain on scarce resources, before underlining the conspiratorial nature of what he believes is happening.

“They've got some kind of handshake agreement behind closed doors in a smoke-filled room that, you know, this is gonna be good for the Democrat Party long-term,” he concluded.

Although the Politico profile also touches on possible future investigations of President Joe Biden’s son, the piece completely misleads its readers about Comer’s deep obsession with him.

The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank covered that topic in May, finding that Comer has claimed Hunter Biden is tied to nearly every single domestic or international news story in some way or another. Specifically, Comer has accused Hunter Biden of being responsible for supposed increased levels of fentanyl smuggling at the U.S. southern border, helping China’s battery market, protecting Russian oligarchs from sanctions, and impeding an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 virus. As Milbank lays out, each of these claims lies somewhere between gross exaggeration and pure fabrication, yet Comer has vowed to be “all over Hunter Biden” when he becomes chair of the House Oversight Committee.

Comer’s far-right conspiracy theories don’t stop with Hunter Biden, however. He has also suggested that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) may have been partially responsible for the January 6 fascist riot by not requesting sufficient security.

“I want to find out what did Nancy Pelosi know, and when did she know it?” Comer said on fringe cable outlet OAN about a month after the riot. 

Comer also supports run-of-the-mill conservative cruelty. Last June, for example, he claimed that the child tax credit was “really doing more harm than good.” In fact, the policy lifted more than 3 million children out of poverty before it expired at the end of 2021.

He also supports the casual, anti-LGBTQ bigotry that’s ubiquitous in the Republican Party. According to two reporters present at the event that Politico attended, Comer used anti-trans rhetoric about “men” being able to give birth as a laugh line. That line didn’t make it into the Politico piece. 

Comer’s bigotry extends beyond the LGBTQ community. In July 2019, Donald Trump made racist comments about The Squad – four women of color in the House of Representatives – singling out Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a Black woman born in Somalia, saying she should “go back.” When asked about Trump’s tweet, Comer justified it and embellished Trump's racist argument. Somehow, that didn’t make it into the Politico piece either.

Comer is poised to become incredibly powerful if the Republicans win back the majority in November. Stories like this one serve to rehabilitate his image and whitewash his history of far-right extremism.