Throughout this Congress, though House Republicans haven’t actually moved much forward, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has used his post leading the chamber’s Judiciary Committee to pursue investigators across a slew of jurisdictions who have in some manner drawn in former President Donald Trump. That list includes New York’s Alvin Bragg, Georgia’s Fani Willis, and now, Special Counsel Jack Smith at the federal Justice Department.
Writing alongside Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Jordan recently demanded from Smith materials including a large trove of communications related to his investigative work, and the two Republicans threatened a subpoena — or perhaps several subpoenas — in the event that Smith falls short of their idea of compliance. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who serves on the Judiciary panel under Jordan, condemned the Ohioan’s actions as clearly meant simply to bolster Trump’s political prospects. Democrats have raised this argument throughout the development of Trump’s now four criminal cases and Republicans’ characteristically furious reactions at even the attempt to hold the ex-president to common standards.
“Jim Jordan is converting the House Judiciary Committee into a criminal defense firm representing Donald Trump. Trump has plenty of his own defense lawyers to seek discovery in his criminal trials. He doesn’t need Congress to do it for him,” Schiff said on X (Twitter).
The other main avenue of investigative focus for House Republicans remains the supposedly suspicious business activities of the Biden family, around which the party’s members in the lower legislative chamber have been furiously searching for evidence potentially implicating the president. Despite the lack of such a clear connection, the GOP majority in the House voted just before the holidays to formalize their already unfolding impeachment inquiry targeting the president, though the Democratic majority in the Senate ensures any impeachment that actually gets approved would fail. All participating House Republicans backed the sham impeachment inquiry in the recently held vote.
Jim Jordan is converting the House Judiciary Committee into a criminal defense firm representing Donald Trump.
Trump has plenty of his own defense lawyers to seek discovery in his criminal trials.
He doesn’t need Congress to do it for him. https://t.co/JEWwpHquLu
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) December 21, 2023
