Trump ally Jim Jordan draws eye of U.S. House's Capitol riot probe

[December 23, 2021]  By Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The congressional committee probing the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday requested an interview with ardent Donald Trump supporter Jim Jordan, the second sitting U.S. representative drawn into the probe.

The House of Representatives Select Committee on Jan. 6 asked Jordan, a Republican, to disclose conversations he had with the former president on the day that Trump's supporters attacked the Capitol, trying to stop Congress from formally certifying Democrat Joe Biden's presidential election victory.

Jordan's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Select Committee is trying to establish who communicated with Trump while thousands of his supporters attacked police, smashing windows and sending members of Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence running for their lives.
 

"Despite the urgent requests that the President speak and instruct the rioters to leave, President Trump did not make such a statement for multiple hours," said Representative Bennie Thompson, the committee's chairman, in the letter making the request.

The request comes two days after a similar one to Republican Representative Scott Perry.

Perry said on Tuesday he would not respond to the queries, and a committee spokesman suggested it would consider issuing a subpoena.

U.S. Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) participates in a Republican-led forum on the possible origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. June 29, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

Multiple people close to Trump, including conservative media hosts, urged him during the riot to make a televised speech telling his supporters to stop the attack. Trump waited hours before releasing a prerecorded message.

House Republicans earlier this year nominated Jordan to sit on the committee probing the riot, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the choice, citing his support of Trump's false claims of election fraud.

Two Republicans, Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, sit on the committee probing the riot.

The committee has issued more than 50 subpoenas and heard from more than 300 witnesses in its investigation of the attack.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Scott Malone and Peter Cooney)

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.