Jim Jordan violated House ethics by defying subpoenas, Jan. 6 committee says

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) —

Ohio GOP Congressman Jim Jordan was unanimously referred to the bipartisan House Ethics Committee on Monday for refusing to share what he knows about former President Donald Trump's role in the U.S. Capitol insurrection nearly two years ago.

MORE | Jan. 6 committee refers criminal charges against Trump over insurrection

Jordan, perhaps Trump's most vocal defender in Congress, was among four GOP congressmen referred to the ethics group for defying a Jan. 6 committee subpoena for testimony and documents. Few expect the ethics committee members to issue the requested sanctions for the quartet's defiance.

Jordan spokesman Russell Dye issued a statement to WSYX 6 On Your Side:

“This is just another partisan and political stunt made by a Select Committee that knowingly altered evidence, blocked minority representation on a committee for the first time in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives, and failed to respond to Mr. Jordan’s numerous letters and concerns surrounding the politicization and legitimacy of the committee’s work.”

The Jan. 6 panel, which met for the final time, also made four criminal referrals on the former president.

Jordan originally was chosen as a member of the Jan. 6 committee, but Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to let him join — in part because of his possible involvement surrounding the U.S. Capitol insurrection nearly two years ago. That prediction came true as committee investigators and others discovered the Urbana, Ohio, Republican's presence in White House planning meetings in the days leading up to the riot.

House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy refused to name replacements for Jordan and another Republican removed by Pelosi, resulting in the Jan. 6 committee being dominated by Democrats 7-2.

McCarthy also was named for possible ethics violations by the committee, along with Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Andy Biggs of Arizona.

Jordan, likely chairman of the House Judiciary Committee next year, has promised to lead a host of investigations into Hunter Biden and other topics involving the administration of President Joe Biden -- many of which are certain to involve subpoenas.

Here's why the Jan. 6 committee wanted to talk to Ohio GOP Rep Jim Jordan

In June, the Jan. 6 committee sent a five-page letter to Jordan outlining his involvement in a series of key events that the panel wanted to question him about in detail.

“Cooperation with our investigation would also give you the opportunity to resolve, on the record, inconsistencies in your public statements about the events of Jan. 6. For instance, you have offered inconsistent public statements regarding when and how many times you spoke with President Trump on Jan. 6,” Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, said in the letter.

“Given that you have said all along ‘I have nothing to hide,’ we expect that you would be willing to clarify these statements for us.”

Among the 10 reasons the select committee listed for wanting to hear from Jordan were two items not disclosed until the June letter:

• He requested a call with then-attorney General William Barr on Nov. 6, the day before the 2020 election was called for Joe Biden.
• The same day he asked to talk with Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows about “efforts to pressure Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe to audit his state’s election results.”
• Jordan told Meadows the afternoon of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that Trump’s “various congressional supporters seemed increasingly less excited now that their revolt would be covered only by C-SPAN.”

Other Jordan involvement cited by the committee:

• A Nov. 9, 2020, meeting with senior White House officials in which a “blueprint” was developed to “hammer home the idea that the election was tainted.”
• A meeting Nov. 14 of the same year with Trump campaign officials and members of Congress in which Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani outlined a strategy to falsely question the integrity of Dominion Voting Systems -- which makes voting machines used in Ohio and several other states -- and link them to Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez.
• On Dec. 21, 2020, Jordan and several members of Congress met with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and the president’s legal team to review options on challenging certification of the election.
• The same month, Trump told the Department of Justice that Jordan was “trying to find out what happened” to election fraud allegations.
• On Jan. 5, the day before the 2021 riot, Jordan passed along advice to Meadows that Pence should refuse to certify “unconstitutional” votes.
• Starting almost immediately after the election, Jordan repeatedly called the integrity of the vote into question, and advised Trump not to concede the election even after results were certified Jan. 6.
• Jordan talked with Trump the morning of Jan. 6 shortly before the Capitol riot began, and later the same day after congressional members were moved to a secure location.

Jim Jordan mentioned 30+ times in "introductory" report by panel probing US Capitol insurrection

The Ohio congressman's name is prominent in a 154-page Introductory Material to the Final Report of the Select Committee document released after Monday's hearing.

Jordan had "materially relevant communications with Donald Trump or others in the White House" and "was a significant player in President Trump’s efforts" to overturn the 2020 election that Biden won, the report said.

For example, on Jan. 2, 2021, "Jordan led a conference call in which he, President Trump, and other members of Congress discussed strategies for delaying the Jan. 6th joint (congressional) session (to acknowledge Biden as president). During that call, the group also discussed issuing social media posts encouraging President Trump’s supporters to 'march to the Capitol' on the 6th."

An hour and-a-half later, "President Trump and Representative Jordan spoke by phone for 18 minutes."

Jordan was "involved in discussions with White House officials about Vice President Pence’s role on January 6th as early as November 2020."

Thus the committee's request for more information from Jordan and other congressmen was justified, the report said.

"The rules of the House of Representatives make clear that their willful noncompliance violates multiple standards of conduct and subjects them to discipline," the panel concluded.

"A House member’s willful failure to comply with a congressional subpoena also reflects discredit on Congress. If left unpunished, such behavior undermines Congress’s longstanding power to investigate in support of its lawmaking authority and suggests that members of Congress may disregard legal obligations that apply to ordinary citizens."