Jim Jordan, a close confidante of Donald Trump, said on Sunday he will not cooperate with a House committee investigating the January 6 at...
Jim Jordan, a close confidante of Donald Trump, said on Sunday he will not cooperate with a House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
The Ohio Republican representative was asked to disclose conversations he had with the former president as 'Stop the Steal' protesters breached the Capitol in a bid to stop Congress from formally certifying the Democrat Joe Biden's election victory in the first days of 2021.
'This request is far outside the bounds of any legitimate inquiry, violates core constitutional principles and would serve to further erode legislative norms,' Jordan said in a letter to committee chairman, Democrat Bennie Thompson.
'The American people are tired of Democrats' nonstop investigations and partisan witch hunts,' he added, joining a growing list of Trump allies who have refused to answer questions from the panel.
The combative rejoinder came after the committee asked for an interview with Jordan last month - a request the Trump ally described as 'an unprecedented and inappropriate demand'.
'Mr. Jordan's letter fails to address the principal [basis] for the Select Committee's request for a meeting, including that he worked directly with President Trump and the Trump legal team to attempt to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election,' a spokesperson for the January 6 select committee said in response to Jordan's letter.
'Mr. Jordan has admitted that he spoke directly to President Trump on January 6th and is thus a material witness,' they added. 'Mr. Jordan's letter to the committee fails to address these facts. Mr. Jordan has previously said that he would cooperate with the committee's investigation, but it now appears that the Trump team has persuaded him to try to hide the facts and circumstances of January 6th.'
They previewed: 'The Select Committee will respond to this letter in more detail in the coming days and will consider appropriate next steps.'
Jordan was one of Trump's main defenders during his two impeachment trials, the second on a charge of inciting the Capitol riot. Both times, Trump was acquitted by the Senate, then controlled by Republicans.
In denying the panel's request to appear, Jordan is the second GOP lawmaker to rebuke the committee in their probe to get to the bottom of the January 6 attack.
US Republican Representative Jim Jordan said on Sunday he would not cooperate with a US House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol after he was asked to disclose conversations he had with the former president as 'Stop the Steal' protesters breached the Capitol
Jordan was one of Donald Trump's main defenders during his two impeachment trials, the second on a charge of inciting the Capitol riot (pictured, the former president at a rally shortly before his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021)
Pennsylvania Republican Representative Scott Perry last month declined the select committee's request to speak with him.
'I stand with immense respect for our Constitution, the Rule of Law, and the Americans I represent who know that this entity is illegitimate, and not duly constituted under the rules of the US House of Representatives,' the House Freedom Caucus member wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. 'I decline this entity's request and will continue to fight the failures of the radical Left who desperately seek distraction from their abject failures of crushing inflation, a humiliating surrender in Afghanistan, and the horrendous crisis they created at our border.'
This year, House Republicans nominated Jordan to the committee investigating the riot, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the choice, citing his support of Trump's false claims of election fraud.
Thompson told Jordan in a letter last month that the panel wants him to provide information surrounding his communications with Trump as well as any communication the congressman may have had with Trump's legal team, White House personnel and others involved in planning the rally for January 6.
Jordan told Politico in August he spoke with Trump 'more than once' on January 6, but that he did not recall the exact number of times.
'We understand that you had at least one and possibly multiple communications with President Trump on January 6th,' Thompson's letter read. 'We would like to discuss each such communication with you in detail.'
It added that the committee had testimony indicating Trump was watching television coverage of the riot as he refused to appear publicly on TV and tell his supporters to go home.
It asked Jordan to detail any discussions he had regarding the possibility of presidential pardons for people involved in any aspect of the Capitol attack or the planning for the two rallies that took place that day.
In his response Sunday, Jordan insisted, 'I have no relevant information that would assist the Select Committee in advancing any legitimate legislative purpose.'
He accused Democrats of using the committee as 'a partisan cudgel against their political adversaries.'
Thousands of Trump supporters are seen on January 6, 2021, marching towards the Capitol. The riot left 150 members of law enforcement injured, and cost five their lives
Jordan is a staunch supporter of Trump's false claims about voter fraud.
The lawmaker brought those claims up during an October hearing on a motion to hold former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon in contempt for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena.
In that hearing, Jordan admitted that he spoke with Trump on the day of the attack.
'Of course, I talked to the president,' Jordan told members of the Rules Committee, in response to questioning from the panel's chairman, Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.
'I talked to him that day. I've been clear about that. I don't recall the number of times, but it's not about me. I know you want to make it about that.'
The panel is also seeking information regarding Jordan's meeting with Trump and members of his administration in November and December 2020, and in early January 2021, 'about strategies for overturning the results of the 2020 election.'
'We would also like to ask you about any discussions involving the possibility of presidential pardons for individuals involved in any aspect of January 6th or the planning for January 6th,' Thompson said in his letter.
The interview request came after Jordan was revealed as the 'lawmaker' who sent a text to Mark Meadows on the eve of the riot, suggesting a way in which Vice President Mike Pence could avoid certifying the November 2020 vote.
Jim Jordan sent the above text to Mark Meadows on January 5. It was a forwarded message, which had been sent to Jordan by Joseph Schmitz, an attorney. Critics have pointed out that there was a period added at the end, and the full message was far longer
The text was a three-paragraph summary of a longer legal argument, and had been sent to Jordan by attorney Joseph Schmitz. Jordan then forwarded Schmitz's argument to Meadows.
Jordan's argument in his letter is essentially, 'So what?', claiming he has the right to be involved in any debate tied to congressional proceedings, including certification of election results.
At the time of the text, Trump was desperately seeking a way to prevent his No. 2 from certifying the results of the November vote in Congress - usually, a routine and uneventful procedure.
'On January 6, 2021, Vice President Mike Pence, as President of the Senate, should call out all electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all,' the text began.
The committee said last month that it could meet with Jordan on either January 3 or January 4, or the week of January 10. It had also offered to come interview Jordan in his home district.
The committee has long had its sights set on Jordan, and in August asked communications companies to preserve his phone records along with a number of other lawmakers .
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