The select House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol said Rep. Jim Jordan is a “material witness” to its investigation and is questioning whether former President Donald Trump’s team had a role in convincing the Ohio Republican to conceal what he knows about the riot from the committee.
“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,” a spokesperson for the committee said in a statement to CQ Roll Call. “The Select Committee will respond to this letter in more detail in the coming days and will consider appropriate next steps.”
On Sunday night, Jordan posted his response to an interview request from Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. In a letter posted on Twitter, Jordan said Americans are tired of the Democrats’ “nonstop investigations and partisan witch hunts” and said he has “no relevant information” that would help the panel “in advancing any legitimate legislative purpose.”
Jordan also said the committee was targeting Republicans and that he is unaware of any efforts by the panel to obtain testimony from Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Administration Chairperson Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., “or any other Democrat Members with responsibility for or oversight of the security posture at the Capitol complex on January 6.”
Asked whether Jordan had any further comment after the panel’s statement regarding his letter became public, a spokesperson for the Ohio Republican did not respond.
In December, Thompson asked Jordan to meet with the committee to discuss Jordan’s communications with Trump on Jan. 6, as well as Jordan’s interactions with the Willard War Room (shorthand for a group of Trump loyalists who met at the Willard Hotel in Washington to coordinate strategy to overturn the election), Trump’s legal team, White House personnel or others involved in planning Jan. 6 events. The committee also expressed interest in any communications Jordan had with the White House and Trump in the days and months preceding the riot, including the consideration of pardons for people involved in the attack.
Jordan’s letter, the committee spokesperson said, “fails to address the principal bases 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. Mr. Jordan has admitted that he spoke directly to President Trump on January 6th and is thus a material witness. Mr. Jordan’s letter to the committee fails to address these facts.”
In December, GOP Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania also rejected an interview request from the select committee.
How the panel will proceed with Jordan and Perry, such as issuing subpoenas or pursuing another avenue to get the information, is unclear.
Jordan’s letter appears to run in contrast to his words from an Oct. 20 Rules Committee hearing when he was asked if he would share information he has about Jan. 6 and the events leading up to that date.
“I’ve said all along, ‘I have nothing to hide.’ I’ve been straightforward all along,” Jordan, the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, said.
Jordan was among five Republican lawmakers picked by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to serve on the panel. However, Jordan and Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana were blocked by Pelosi from serving, a move that prompted McCarthy to pull all of his choices.
“With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by these Members, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee,” Pelosi said in a statement at the time.
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