Rep. Jim Jordan has asked the House Select Committee investigating last year’s Capitol riot to turn over all documents, videos and other material where his name is mentioned as he mulls a subpoena issued to him earlier this month.
In a six-page letter sent Wednesday, Jordan (R-Ohio) blasted the panel over the decision to subpoena him, saying it “violates core Constitutional principles, disregards House rules and precedent, and fails to address the concerns I raised to you about the Select Committee’s abusive tactics and pattern of due process violations.”
Jordan was subpoenaed May 12 for failing to appear before the committee voluntarily earlier this year along with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Mo Brooks (R-Ala.)
At the time, Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) claimed the Republicans “have information relevant to our investigation into the attack on January 6th and the events leading up to it.”
Jordan disputed that in his Wednesday letter, saying: “I have no relevant information that would advance any legitimate legislative purpose.”
“I had no responsibility for the security of the Capitol Complex on January 6, and I cannot explain why a concern about ‘optics’ contributed to the limited security postures,” he continued. “I had no role in or advance knowledge that violence would occur that day, although I am aware of public reports that federal law enforcement has concluded that the violence was not part of an ‘organized plot to overturn the presidential election result.’”
The Republican ended his letter with three requests for documents that he expected the panel to “provide the entirety of … without delay.”
Specifically, Jordan asked the committee for “all documents, videos, or other material in the possession of the Select Committee that you potentially anticipate using, introducing, or relying on during questioning,” as well as “all documents, communications, testimony, and other material in the possession of the Select Committee in which my name appears or in which I am referenced.”
Jordan, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, justified his request by suggesting that “members of the Select Committee have altered and publicly misrepresented nonpublic information concerning my actions.”
Jordan also asked the panel to “provide all legal authorities and legal analysis” discussing the constitutionality of congressional subpoenas that are not related to ethics investigations.
It is unclear whether the Democrat-led committee can force the five Republican lawmakers to testify, as the Constitution does provide some special protections for legislators. For example, the Speech or Debate Clause says they “shall not be questioned” about any speech or debate in the House.
“The Select Committee has not articulated how the information it seeks is necessary to advance a legitimate legislative purpose, or why such information cannot be obtained through other means,” Jordan wrote.
The Ohio Republican was first asked to voluntarily appear before the committee in December, but he rejected the request in January.
“The American people are tired of Democrats’ nonstop investigations and partisan witch hunts,” Jordan wrote in a four-page letter to Thompson at the time.
“This request is far outside the bounds of any legitimate inquiry, violates core Constitutional principles, and would serve to further erode legislative norms,” he added.
This month’s subpoenas were just the latest of several that the Jan. 6 committee has issued to Trump allies and Republican aides — many of whom claim they had nothing to do with the violence of Jan. 6, 2021.
Among the Trump allies who have ignored the subpoenas are former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and one-time White House strategist Steve Bannon.
Bannon is the only person to have been indicted on two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to testify, though the House of Representatives voted to hold Meadows in contempt in December.