Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has no intention of cooperating with the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, calling the request “unprecedented and inappropriate.”
Jordan penned a letter to Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the committee’s chair, explaining why he is unwilling to cooperate.
“The American people are tired of Democrats’ nonstop investigations and partisan witch hunts. Your letter of December 22, 2021, unfortunately continues this Democrat obsession. It amounts to an unprecedented and inappropriate demand to examine the basis for a colleague’s decision on a particular matter pending before the House of Representatives,” Jordan wrote.
He added, “This request is far outside the bounds of any legitimate inquiry, violates core Constitutional principles, and would serve to further erode legislative norms.”
According to Jordan, he was performing his “official duties” at the time of the security breach at the Capitol.
Jordan continued, “Your attempt to pry into the deliberative process informing a Member about legislative matters before the House is an outrageous abuse of the Select Committee’s authority.”
The Republican argued the committee “cannot be trusted to operate fairly or in good faith.”
Concluding his letter, Jordan wrote, “If the Select Committee can so readily violate American civil liberties and mislead Americans about the information it possesses—including information relating to me—I have no confidence that the Select Committee will fairly or accurately represent any information I could provide.”
A spokesperson for the committee told Axios in an emailed statement Sunday, Jordan previously said he would cooperate, “but it now appears that the Trump team has persuaded him to try to hide the facts and circumstances of January 6th.”
The spokesperson also told the outlet the committee would respond to Jordan’s letter in more detail “in the coming days and will consider appropriate next steps,” as Axios reports.
Last month, Thompson sent Jordan a letter asking him to provide more information surrounding conversations he had with the former president on January 6.
“We understand that you had at least one and possibly multiple communications with President Trump on January 6th,” Thompson wrote. “We would like to discuss each such communication with you in detail.”
