With Donald Trump facing 91 criminal charges in four cases, his Republican allies on Capitol Hill are working to both defend and help him as he runs for president again.
Congress returns to session next month and House GOP leaders are indicating they may open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, even though some moderate Republicans say there is no evidence he was improperly involved with his son Hunter’s business dealings.
A key player behind the push is Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of the powerful House Judiciary Committee where impeachment would originate. Seven months into his chairmanship, Jordan has shown an eagerness to investigate multiple aspects of the Biden administration and launch efforts to defend Trump.
Investigations into each Trump indictment
“We are going to be just as aggressive here,” Jordan said in a Fox News interview last week.
Jordan has pledged to investigate Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis after she brought charges against Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. Just last week, he sent a letter to Willis seeking information on whether her office coordinated with Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing two separate criminal trials into the former president, as well as if federal funds were used in her probe.
It’s become a familiar move by Jordan, who remains one of Trump’s fiercest allies in Congress.
In March, as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg prepared to indict Trump for payments to a porn star, Jordan fired off a letter accusing Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority” and demanding that he provide documents and testimony about his investigation. Weeks later, after Bragg charged Trump, Jordan held a field hearing in Manhattan to scrutinize Bragg’s record on crime.
Then in June, Jordan demanded Justice Department documents relating to its investigations of Trump. It came as Special Counsel Jack Smith was moving to bring charges accusing Trump of mishandling classified documents and subverting the 2020 election.
This month, Jordan has subpoenaed the FBI Director and Attorney General as he investigates tech companies, as well as IRS and FBI officials involved in the Hunter Biden probe.
‘It’s the stuff that matters to people's liberty’
Before Congress left town for August recess, Spectrum News spoke with Jordan about his approach to leading the committee and his support for Trump – and why he continues to back the former president as he faces multiple criminal charges.
“Cause he’s a good president,” Jordan replied. Loves this country. He did what he said he would do.”
Days prior, Jordan dined with Trump at the former president’s New Jersey golf club.
“I thought he was a great president and I want him to be president again,” Jordan said.
Jordan’s support of Trump helped him to become chair of the powerful House Judiciary Committee when Republicans took power in January. He also heads a new subcommittee created to investigate what Republicans call the “weaponization” of the FBI and other federal agencies against conservatives – echoing a frequent complaint by Trump, who has repeatedly accused the Justice Department of targeting him.
Between the two committees, Jordan has held a total of 40 hearings, issued over 30 subpoenas, received over 260,000 pages of documents, and conducted 58 interviews and depositions, according to an internal letter Spectrum News obtained that was sent to committee members as August recess began.
How does Jordan decide what the committees should investigate and what hearings should focus on?
“Well I think it’s the stuff that matters to people’s liberty,” Jordan said. “The Judiciary Committee is the committee that’s supposed to protect the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and your fundamental freedoms. And that’s what we focus on.”
Democrats feel differently.
“It’s been a frustrating big committee to be on because so many of the hearings have been partisan and not about solving problems,” North Carolina Rep. Deborah Ross told Spectrum News.
Ross, a Democratic member of the panel, said some of its subcommittees are bipartisan and productive, but she accuses Jordan of catering strictly to his base.
“I think there are really two different kinds of chairs of Judiciary,” Ross said. “People who want to get things done, and people who want to be on TV. And Jim Jordan is much more interested in raising issues, making points, than getting legislation passed.”
Her criticisms are echoed by White House officials, who repeatedly bash Jordan for his scrutiny of Biden and his family.
Ian Sams, a White House spokesman for oversight and investigations, said in a statement to Spectrum News: “Instead of working with the President to expand solutions that make life better for Ohio families, like bringing down prices or continuing to create more Ohio manufacturing jobs, Congressman Jordan is spending all his time on bizarre conspiracy theories and staging politically motivated stunts in Washington that get him attention in conservative media but don’t create Ohio jobs or get Ohioans better health care.”
An autumn focused on impeachment and funding
Jordan waives off critics who say most of his actions as chair seem dedicated to helping Trump politically and hurting Biden.
“We’re focused on freedom, we’re focused on stopping censorship…you know, there’s going to be people who criticize you every day. It happens to me every day. No dig deal,” he said.
Jordan boasts that the committee helped get a hardline immigration bill through the House, though it’s gone nowhere in the Democratic-led Senate.
He said a focus of the fall season will be trying to use the annual congressional appropriations process to strip funding from federal agencies he feels are unfairly targeting conservatives. Jordan is also continuing to press the Justice Department for information about its Hunter Biden investigation.
As for opening an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, Jordan hinted it’s likely, despite some moderate members of his party reportedly indicating that they are skeptical due to a lack of concrete evidence.
“When it comes to the president, there’s lots of facts that are piling up,” Jordan claimed.