Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has responded to a letter from Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) of the January 6 select committee asking for his "voluntary cooperation in advancing our investigation." The letter from January 9 obtained by Townhall makes it clear that Rep. Jordan is not giving into their demands. "As you well know, I have no relevant information that would assist the Select Committee in advancing any legitimate legislative purpose," the letter reads at one point. Throughout his strongly worded letter, Jordan calls out the select committee's partisan targeting of one political party.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) January 10, 2022
"The American people are tired of Democrats' nonstop investigations and partisan witch hunts," Jordan's letter begins. "Your letter of December 22, 2021, unfortunately continues this Democrat obsession. It amounts to an unprecedented and inappropriate demand to examine the basis for a colleague’s decision on a particular matter pending before the House of Representatives. This request is far outside the bounds of any legitimate inquiry, violates core Constitutional principles, and would serve to further erode legislative norms," Jordan continues.
And there are other reasons as to why Jordan does not consider the select committee to be worth trusting. As his letter mentions, there has been less than honest conduct from members of the select committee. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), for instance, doctored a text message that Jordan forwarded to Mark Meadows. Additionally, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) falsely attributed a text message to a Republican lawmaker.
A dramatic back and forth has occurred between Meadows and the select committee. Last September, the select committee sent out its first round of subpoenas, which included Meadows, who was then President Donald Trump's chief of staff on January 6. For his defiance, the U.S. House of Representatives held Meadows in contempt of Congress.
The drama began long before, though. Only two Republican members, Reps. Liz Cheney (WY) and Adam Kinzinger (IL) voted in favor of the select committee. They are also the only Republicans appointed to the select committee, but they were appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Just last Thursday, while on Fox News' "Special Report," Cheney claimed to Bret Baier that "I am the ranking Republican member by nature of when I was appointed."
The ranking member would have been Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN). However, in what Jordan refers to as "an unprecedented action" Pelosi rejected two picks from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Banks and Jordan. "Democrats violated the most fundamental and longstanding safeguard for fairness in House proceedings in standing up the Select Committee," Jordan's letter laments.
"Speaker Pelosi also failed to consult with Leader McCarthy about the appointment of Republican Members, in direct violation of the requirement in the resolution establishing the Select Committee that she do so. As a result, and without any Republican Members selected by the Republican Leader, the Select Committee has no effective measure of balance or objectivity," Jordan goes on to say in his letter.
McCarthy went on to pull his remaining picks.
It is because of such partisan targeting that Jordan writes towards the end of his letter that "If the Select Committee can so readily violate American civil liberties and mislead Americans about the information it possesses—including information relating to me—I have no confidence that the Select Committee will fairly or accurately represent any information I could provide." He goes on to stress that "any such information would be directly related to my deliberations and objections pursuant to a statutorily prescribed procedure."
While the Democrats are focused on this "obsession" of theirs, the country is plagued by a host of other issues. Jordan doesn't hold back on that, either. "The American people deserve better than the Democrats’ incessant focus on partisan investigations. Rampant inflation is hurting American families, an unmitigated crisis at the southern border threatens American communities, the Biden Administration is weaponizing counterterrorism tools against American parents, and President Biden’s weak leadership endangers American service members overseas," Jordan brings up in closing. "These real challenges affecting our constituents today are the issues on which Congress should properly be focused," he offers.
Polls indicate that many Americans would perceive Joe Biden's presidency to be a failure. RealClearPolitics (RCP) has Biden facing an average of a 42.1 percent approval rating and a 54.6 percent disapproval rating, using polls from December 17-January 6.
(1/2) I stand with immense respect for our Constitution, the Rule of Law, and the Americans I represent who know that this entity is illegitimate, and not duly constituted under the rules of the US House of Representatives.
— RepScottPerry (@RepScottPerry) December 21, 2021
(2//2) I decline this entity’s request and will continue to fight the failures of the radical Left who desperately seek distraction from their abject failures of crushing inflation, a humiliating surrender in Afghanistan, and the horrendous crisis they created at our border.
— RepScottPerry (@RepScottPerry) December 21, 2021
The select committee had also asked Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) to voluntarily cooperate. He too declined.
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