Soon after becoming the far-right chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan wrote to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, demanding information about, among other things, the investigation into an ongoing criminal investigation into Donald Trump.
Main Justice sent a polite and professional response, explaining that federal law enforcement “stands ready” to work with congressional investigators, while also making clear that the Justice Department has a longstanding policy against divulging private information on ongoing investigations — and it wasn’t about to start making exceptions because some conspiracy theorists in Congress want to run interference for a former president.
A couple of months later, Jordan was it again, taking steps to intervene in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into Trump — even before the former president was indicted. Those efforts were also not well received: At one point, the local prosecutor found it necessary to warn the Ohio congressman that he was approaching the line of “unlawful political interference.”
Now, as NBC News reported, Jordan is at it yet again.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, a top Trump ally, is calling on the Justice Department to provide lawmakers with internal documents laying out the scope of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents found last year at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
In a letter first reported by NBC News, Jordan told Garland that his committee wants “an unredacted copy of the memorandum outlining the scope of Mr. Smith’s probes regarding President Trump and any supporting documentation related to his appointment as special counsel.”
The due date, evidently, is June 20.
This comes roughly a week after Jordan wrote a different letter to Garland, complaining of an “institutional rot that pervades the FBI,” and seeking detailed information on the specific FBI personnel involved in the investigation into Trump’s classified documents scandal.
So, a few things.
First, I’m all for robust congressional oversight of the executive branch, but Jordan’s hysteria is plainly indefensible. There’s simply no way federal prosecutors — before a possible indictment is filed — will open its files in an ongoing investigation to a criminal suspect’s sycophantic ally. The very idea is absurd to the point of comedy. Second, if recent history is any guide, the Judiciary Committee chairman will respond to inevitable Justice Department resistance as evidence of law enforcement having “something to hide.” That will be ridiculous, but he’s made similar comments before. And finally, no one should be surprised if Jordan, desperate to use his gavel to assist Trump, takes these antics in some radical directions. Will he issue subpoenas? Should we expect contempt proceedings? Will impeachment talk soon follow? The possibilities might seem outlandish, but so too are the antics Jordan is already engaged in.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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