Yesterday morning, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), a member of the bipartisan House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, noted that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) may very well be called to testify.
She explained the congressman was “involved in a number of meetings in the lead-up to what happened on Jan. 6, involved in planning for Jan. 6, certainly for the objections that day.”
This, of course, is the same Jim Jordan whom House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) wanted to serve on the investigatory panel before the selection was rejected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
But by the end of the day, the prospect of the far-right Ohioan receiving a subpoena went from possible to probable. The HuffPost reported:
After ducking the question multiple times, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) admitted Tuesday on Fox News that he spoke to then-President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, but he refused to disclose what they discussed.
Following yesterday’s committee hearing, Fox News’ Bret Baier asked Jordan on the air whether he spoke with the former president on the day of the attack on the Capitol. The congressman hedged, saying that he’d spoken to Trump “umpteen times.”
So, the anchor asked again, pressing Jordan on whether he talked to Trump specifically on Jan. 6. Again, the GOP lawmaker dodged the question, speaking only in generalities about the “numerous” conversations he’s had with the former president.
When Baier pressed further, Jordan appeared to concede that he did talk to Trump on Jan. 6, though he wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of the conversation.
The comments came two months after the Ohio Republican, in the context of a discussion about the Jan. 6 attack, said, “I didn’t do anything wrong — I talked to the president. I talk to the president all the time.” Asked to clarify about whether he’d spoken with the then-president on the day of the insurrectionist violence, Jordan wouldn’t say.
Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told reporters yesterday he expects the first wave of subpoenas to come out “soon.” Jordan probably shouldn’t be too surprised if he’s one of the recipients.
As for the larger context, the Ohioan was already a ridiculous choice to serve on the investigatory committee — not just because of his sycophantic allegiance to Trump, but because of Jordan’s own record.
The New York Times reported last week, for example, that Jordan participated in a meeting at the White House, where he plotted with Trump on how best to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election. The far-right congressman also went on record saying, “I don’t know how you can ever convince me that President Trump didn’t actually win this thing.”
Jordan, of course, also voted against certifying the results of the presidential election, signed onto a legal brief asking the Supreme Court to reject the election results, and voted against creating the select committee on which he was asked to serve.
And now it appears Jordan also spoke with Trump the day of the attack. If Kevin McCarthy wants to try again to explain why he picked the Ohioan to help investigate the insurrectionist riot, I’d love to hear the defense.
