Jan. 6 committee seeks interview with Trump ally Rep. Jim Jordan

(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack sent a letter on Wednesday to GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, requesting he appear for an interview with the panel about his communications with President Donald Trump on and before Jan. 6.

The request from Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., to the staunch Trump ally is the committee’s second such request to a GOP lawmaker.

On Monday night, the committee requested a meeting with Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., to discuss his communications with Trump Justice Department officials about false claims of election fraud and efforts to install Jeffrey Clark as the acting attorney general.

Jordan, who Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., has described as a potential “material witness” for the committee’s investigation, has said he spoke to Trump on Jan. 6 after the attack — after initially telling an Ohio news station he couldn’t remember when he communicated with Trump and Politico reported that they spoke twice.

Jordan, a leader and founding member of the Trump-aligned House Freedom Caucus, was among the GOP lawmakers who planned to challenge the election results on the House floor. He has said he had “nothing to do with” the attack on the Capitol.

After the election, the Ohio Republican focused most of his efforts challenging the legality of the pandemic-era voting changes in many states rather than some of the more outlandish and unproven theories of election fraud pushed by some Trump supporters.

The committee said it hoped to ask Jordan about his communications with Trump on Jan. 6 and any communications he may have had on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 with Trump’s legal team, White House officials, or any of the rally organizers and activists based at the Willard Hotel.

“We would also like to ask you about any discussions involving the possibility of presidential pardons for individuals involved in any aspect of January 6th or the planning for January 6th,” the panel wrote.

The committee also noted that it has obtained “testimony indicating that the president was watching television coverage of the attack from his private dining room adjoining the Oval Office during this time period,” which has been publicly reported.

A spokesman for Jordan did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The committee requested a meeting with Jordan in the first week of January but also said it would be “glad to explore travel arrangements” to meet with him at home in Ohio.

Jordan was among the House Republicans nominated to serve on the select committee by House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked him from being seated on the panel given his past false statements about the election results — which led McCarthy to withdraw all his selections to the committee.

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