Jan. 6 panel lays out inquiries for Jordan, extends subpoena deadline

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot has extended the deadline for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to comply with its subpoena, laying out in a letter its fullest accounting yet of the information it would like to discuss with him. 

The correspondence to Jordan comes after he wrote a six-page letter to the panel demanding to see the bulk of evidence it has compiled concerning his actions after the 2020 presidential election and leading up to the Jan. 6 certification of its results.

The letter outlines eight topics on inquiry, including previously unreported efforts by Jordan to reach then-Attorney General William Barr the day before the 2020 election was called and to speak with President Trump’s then-chief of staff Mark Meadows about “efforts to pressure Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe to audit his state’s election results.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the select committee, points to prior comments from Jordan saying he would only be able to answer questions about actions beyond the scope of his official duties.

“With all due respect, we believe you can provide much more than that,” Thompson wrote.

The letter, first obtained by Breitbart News, otherwise creates a timeline of Jordan’s actions over the roughly two months between the election and the certification of its results.

It points to previously reported meetings Jordan attended at the White House to plan its strategy for Jan. 6, as well as another meeting with Trump campaign lawyers. Both took place in mid-November 2020.

It also notes an interview with the Department of Justice’s former deputy attorney general who said that Trump had told officials there in December that Jordan was “trying to find out what happened” with regards to his allegations of voter fraud.

Later that month he would participate in another meeting with the Trump legal team and lawmakers to discuss the strategy for opposing the certification of the election results.

Finally, it notes that Jordan spoke with the president for about 10 minutes around 9:30 on the morning of Jan. 6 and again after being evacuated to safety during the riot.

“Given that you ‘have said all along I have nothing to hide,’ we expect you would be willing to clarify these statements for us,” Thompson wrote.

Thompson’s letter otherwise picks apart legal arguments from Jordan’s letter last week, which repeated oft-used Republican arguments that the committee was not properly formed and does not have a legislative purpose. All have largely been rejected by the courts.

“It is thus no surprise that all three district courts that have considered the argument you are making have rejected it,” Thompson wrote.

Jordan, as well as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), were among five lawmakers subpoenaed by the committee after declining invitations to voluntarily sit with committee investigators.

Jordan and McCarthy penned an op-ed last week indicating they were in no rush to speak to the panel. They must mull a variety of options for how to proceed. 

McCarthy’s office did not respond to request for comment on whether he had likewise been given an extension to comply with the committee’s subpoena.