Tag: Jim Jordan

Jordan: Republicans to subpoena whistleblower to testify in public hearing

The Hill logoRepublicans intend to subpoena the government whistleblower to testify in the House’s impeachment investigation into President Trump‘s dealings with Ukraine, according to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

The effort is not likely to bear fruit, as Democrats have rejected the idea of outing the anonymous figure, citing safety concerns, and they have veto power over any GOP subpoena requests for witness testimony.

But Trump and his Republican allies in the Capitol have made the whistleblower a central part of their defense, casting doubts about the figure’s political motivations even as they readily acknowledge they don’t know the person’s identity.

View the complete November 7 article by Mike Lillis on The Hill website here.

Reporter corners GOP’s Jim Jordan after he says Trump’s word is sufficient evidence of no quid pro quo

AlterNet logoRep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) insisted on Wednesday that he takes Donald Trump’s word over the word of four other witnesses who indicated that the president pushed Ukraine for a quid pro quo in order to receive promised aid.

While speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol, Jordan was asked how he weighs the words of different witnesses with regard to Ukraine.

“If one witnesses says there’s no quid pro quo but multiple others say there is, what do you do with that?” the reporter wondered.

View the complete November 6 article by David Edwards from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.

CNN’s Tapper artfully exposes GOP rep’s hypocrisy for attacking Biden while supporting Trump: ‘Either there’s a principle — or there isn’t’

AlterNet logoCNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday cornered Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) over Donald Trump’s wild accusations about Joe Biden’s son, noting that the president’s own children are engaging in foreign business “all over the world” as their father sits in the Oval Office.

Jordan and Tapper were discussing the impeachment inquiry into Trump when Jordan launched a barrage of allegations about Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. The Republican congressman also accused Tapper of engaging in “mental gymnastics” to protect Biden.

“Sir, it’s not gymnastics, it’s facts,” Tapper replied. “And I would think somebody who’s been accused of things in the last year or two would be more sensitive about throwing out wild allegations against people.” (In July, Jordan was named in a lawsuit  on behalf of former Ohio State University athletes who claimed the former assistant wrestling coach failed to prevent sexual abuse carried out by a university doctor).

View the complete September 29 article by Elizabeth Prezo on the AlterNet website here.

GOP’s Jim Jordan could face a subpoena as part of Ohio State sexual abuse probe

AlterNet logoLong before Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio was a far-right Republican congressman, he was an assistant wrestling coach. And Tavia Galonski, a Democrat who serves in Ohio’s state government, is recommending that Jordan be subpoenaed as part of a sexual abuse probe of someone Jordan once worked with.

The late Dr. Richard Strauss has been accused of sexually abusing members of the wrestling team at Ohio State University — where he was a physician for that team, and where Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach from 1986-1994. Strauss committed suicide in 2005, and men who were on the team have come forward with allegations that he sexually abused them.

Galonski, who serves in the Ohio House of Representatives, wants to subpoena Jordan in order to shed some light on the allegations against Strauss.

View the complete September 12 article by Alex Henderson on the AlterNet website here.

GOP’s Jim Jordan gets mocked at House Oversight hearing after ranting that Democrats are trying to interfere with the Supreme Court

On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing to decide whether to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt for not complying with subpoenas regarding the Committee’s investigation into the Trump Administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.

Republicans tried to stunt the proceedings, but their efforts to do so were swiftly blocked.

“Democrats know the Supreme Court will rule by the end of this month on the citizenship question but they hope to use this committee’s oversight power to create a controversy around this issue, try to impact the Court’s decision,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) claimed.

View the complete June 12 article by Tana Geneva from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.

House Freedom Caucus members are suddenly concerned with civility after spending years trying to impeach Obama appointees

The Democrats have held the majority in the House for five months and the only public oversight hearing to shine a light on the administration’s behavior happened four months ago. I’m speaking of Michael Cohen’s testimony in which he figuratively pointed a finger at the Republicans and said:

I’m responsible for your silliness, because I did the same thing that you’re doing now for 10 years — I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years. Everybody’s job at the Trump Organization is to protect Mr. Trump. Every day, most of us knew we were coming in and we were going to lie for him on something. And that became the norm. That’s exactly what’s happening right now in this country, and it’s exactly what’s happening here in government.

It was riveting testimony from a witness who was anxious to testify against the president. He was probably the last of those. Trump’s other accomplices have shown no inclination to see the error of their ways. As Cohen was when he worked for the Trump Organization, they are fully committed to protecting the boss. They also seem to be quite sure they won’t end up like Cohen if they refuse to cooperate with Congress and they don’t seem to fear of other legal consequences. If you didn’t know better you’d think they were part of a mob syndicate that has the system wired and all the important people in their pockets.

View the complete June 10 article by Heather Digby Parton from Salon on the AlterNet website here.

Report: House Committee Probing Rep. Jordan In Ohio State Scandal

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) faced a firestorm last year when former players on the Ohio State wrestling team, where he served as an assistant coach, accused him of ignoring a massive sex abuse scandal. Dr. Richard Strauss was molesting male athletes for decades, a new independent report found, while coaches and administrators knowingly turned a blind eye.

Jordan has denied any knowledge of the abuse while it was happening, but former athletes have claimed he was aware and that the wrestlers spoke openly about it at the time. And on Friday, NBC News reported that the House Committee on Education and Labor has begun examining the allegations of Jordan’s involvement in the scandal, citing an anonymous committee aide.

Ian Fury, Jordan’s communications director, tried to claim he the congressman was vindicated by the report, pointing to its claim that it “did not identify any other contemporaneous documentary evidence indicating that members of the OSU coaching staff, including head coaches or assistant coaches, received or were aware of complaints regarding Strauss’ sexual misconduct.”

View the complete May 17 article by Cody Fenwick from AlterNet on the National Memo website here.

Republican Brushes Off White House Approval Of ‘Serious’ Security Risks

On Monday morning, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), chair of the House Oversight Committee, revealed allegations from a White House whistleblower who said at least 25 individuals received security clearance despite disqualifying issues involving foreign influence, conflicts of interest, financial problems, drug use, and criminal conduct.

The whistleblower, Tricia Newbold, is an 18-year veteran of both Republican and Democratic administrations who reached out to Congress in order to “address the national security risks she has been witnessing over the past two years.”

Jordan, the committee’s ranking Republican, isn’t disputing Newbold’s allegations. In a nine-page memo released by the Republican committee staff Monday afternoon, he whines about behind-the-scenes process issues, but says he takes the “allegations at face value,” despite not being able to independently verify them.

View the complete April 1 article by Oliver Willis on the National Memo website here.

‘Shut up!’: House erupts after GOP congressman flips out on Democrats during health care hearing

The U.S. House of Representatives is a centuries-old institution with some very specific written and unwritten rules and codes of behavior. These are designed to ensure not only appropriate respect for all Members – and their constituents – regardless of age, or gender, or party, but for the institution, the Constitution, and for the rule of law itself.

House Republicans are increasingly ignoring these rules of decorum, and it seems clear they are doing so intentionally to show their utter disrespect while attempting to appear as if they are not part of the Washington “establishment.”

One of the unwritten rules is that male Members of Congress must be properly attired in a suit – including a jacket and tie. (And, naturally, pants and shoes.)

While it does not seem to be written anywhere, House and party leadership – and the Sergeant at Arms have been known to enforce it, at times vigorously, in years past.

View the complete March 29 article by David Badash of The New Civil Rights Movement on the AlterNet website here.

Jim Jordan seeks to block increased funds for Oversight panel he helps lead

Chairman Elijah Cummings wants to rebuild staffing, but his GOP counterpart does not

As House Democrats ramp up their oversight investigations into President Donald Trump’s administration, businesses, and 2016 campaign, at least one Republican has found a new battleground to push back: funding for the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

That panel’s chairman, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, asked the House Administration Committee on Tuesday for a funding increase of 4 percent this year and 10 percent next year over funding levels from the previous, GOP-controlled 115th Congress.

But Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the Oversight panel, opposed Cummings’ budget request, citing the national debt and criticizing Democratic committee members’ investigative priorities. The Oversight panel — which is investigating the Trump administration’s security clearance policy and the president’s potential conflicts of interest stemming from his businesses, among other threads of inquiry — could use that extra funding to fill “essential” staff positions that Cummings asserted on Tuesday have “long been vacant.”

View the complete March 14 article by Katherine Tully-McManus and Griffin Connolly on The Roll Call website.