The House committee investigating the Capitol riot has obtained records indicating that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) spoke with then-President Donald Trump for some ten minutes on the morning of January 6, 2021 — before Trump spoke at the outdoor rally in D.C. that day and before rioters subsequently stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. The records were among the materials from Trump’s administration that the riot investigation committee recently obtained after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an argument from Trump that the items should be kept hidden from investigators because of executive privilege claims.
Guardian US: Trump met with Powell, Flynn and others at the White House on Dec. 18 after they were slipped in by Garrett Ziegler, a Navarro aide, and Patrick Weaver, an aide with the National Security Council.
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) February 4, 2022
Jordan was a supporter of the effort in Congress to block the certification of Biden’s win — an effort that provided inspiration to the rioters. Committee investigators asked Jordan to provide testimony related to their probe, but he’s refused to voluntarily cooperate, and panel members are now debating whether to issue him a subpoena. On Friday, Jordan said that he “talked to the President a number of times that day,” but he insisted that he didn’t “remember the times.” Getting further information about Trump’s communications with individuals including Jordan could help reveal what the then-president was doing behind-the-scenes both in the lead-up to the riot and after it began. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the riot panel, has stated that questions driving the investigation include: “How much expectation of violence was there? How much was that part of the plan, either spontaneously or in terms of any predisposition towards violence that day?”
NEWS: Mike Pence: "President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election. The presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone." Says "there's nothing more unAmerican" to have "any one person … choose the American president."
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 4, 2022
Jordan added on Friday that he “talked to [Trump] after we left off the floor,” meaning after the riot started — so there’s at least another call between the then-president and Jordan that took place, apparently. In the original letter, signed by committee chairperson Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), that sought testimony from Jordan regarding these issues, Thompson indicated that investigators hoped to ask Jordan about his communications with Trump, in addition to pre-January 6 strategizing for attempts to get Biden’s win overturned. Jordan insisted in his response to the riot panel announcing his intent not to cooperate that he has “no relevant information that would assist the Select Committee in advancing any legitimate legislative purpose” — although the fact that he spoke with Trump amid and essentially as a part of a conspiracy to overturn the election results proves his claim as false.
The fact the RNC is censuring Cheney and Kinzinger for investigating January 6 and not condemning Trump for causing January 6 is absolutely demented.
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) February 4, 2022
Jordan also claimed in that letter to the committee that House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “failed to consult with Leader McCarthy about the appointment of Republican Members” for the panel, which doesn’t accurately represent what happened. Pelosi rejected a couple of McCarthy’s picks to sit on the committee, but she was prepared to allow for others — but in retaliation for Pelosi’s rejections, McCarthy entirely withdrew from the process. It’s his own fault that there aren’t any of his preferred members serving on the committee.
Rep. Liz Cheney: "I do not recognize those in my party who have abandoned the Constitution to embrace Donald Trump. History will be their judge."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 4, 2022
