House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer expressed disappointment with what he described as a lack of follow-through by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on criminal referrals stemming from his committee’s investigations during a Thursday interview on “Straight to the Point.”
The Oversight Committee’s X account posted on Dec. 26 that in 2025 the panel held 54 hearings, passed 38 bills, sent over 200 letters, and conducted 26 transcribed interviews, nine depositions and eight markups, host Catherine Herridge noted during the interview. She asked Comer whether any arrests, prosecutions or convictions resulted from the committee’s probes.
“We had a lot of resignations. We had resignations of people from the D.C., police chief to the head of Secret Service to many different bureaucrats and agency heads,” Comer said. “But at the end of the day, I’ve been disappointed in some of the criminal referrals that are collecting dust on Attorney General [Pam] Bondi’s desk.”
“I’ve made that very clear with the White House,” he continued. “I’m hopeful that we’ll see some action soon on the criminal referrals that range everywhere from Dr. [Anthony] Fauci to the [former President Joe] Biden family influence peddling scheme.”
Comer also expressed confidence that the DOJ would make arrests and bring criminal charges against individuals tied to alleged fraud in Minnesota in 2026.
“Has the Justice Department done enough?” Herridge asked.
“Well, I would like to see more. I’m an optimistic person. And I believe that they’re working very hard. And I know the president has a lot of confidence in Pam Bondi,” Comer responded. “So hopefully they will be more successful in prosecuting some of these people that we’ve provided congressional evidence that have broken the law.”
Herridge showed Comer a widely circulated chart that noted the lack of arrests connected to various scandals that Republicans have focused on, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Russiagate.
“Is that what accountability looks like?” she asked.
“That’s the biggest complaint of every Republican on the House Oversight Committee is there haven’t been enough arrests,” Comer said. “Now, some of those issues I don’t know. It’s going to be hard to arrest people.”
Comer also highlighted the committee’s investigation into the Biden administration’s use of an autopen, which concluded that pardons and executive orders signed during the former president’s final year in office should be deemed null and void. While President Donald Trump asserted the documents were “terminated” in a Truth Social post following the investigation and Bondi announced a probe into the issue on X, Comer said further legal action was required.
“I don’t believe the paperwork’s ever been done. And you’re still going to have to go to court for that. But our congressional investigation will serve as basis to uphold the declaration of those pardons and executive orders being declared null and void,” Comer said. “Someone from the Department of Justice just has to take it to court.”
He added that the lack of action was “very frustrating.”
Herridge posted a DOJ spokesperson’s response to Comer’s disappointment on X on Thursday.
“We appreciate Chairman Comer’s leadership and oversight. Unfortunately, longstanding federal law Rule 6(e) governing grand jury secrecy prohibits the Department from discussing the existence or details of pending criminal investigations,” the spokesperson wrote.
“What would materially help the Department carry out its mission is swift action by the Senate to confirm the President’s nominees. More than a year into this administration, critical DOJ positions remain unfilled,” the spokesperson added. “We also urge Congress to address the growing problem of activist judges who are undermining the President’s lawful agenda.”
