Jordan complains about CNN reporters calling former staffers to ask questions

Rep. Jim Jordan on Wednesday hit CNN for contacting his former staffers and interns while reporting on him as Jordan faces accusations that he ignored sexual abuse while working as an assistant college wrestling coach.

Jordan, a former chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, called the network “desperate” and “fake news” for seeking “dirt” on him.

Now @CNN is contacting all 100+ of our former staff and interns asking for dirt on me. Getting desperate! How can you ever trust such #fakenews?

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) July 11, 2018

The Hill has reached out to CNN for comment.

{mosads}Jordan is facing scrutiny after several former Ohio State University wrestlers came forward with claims that he knew of alleged sexual abuse by the team’s physician while he served as the assistant coach. Jordan has repeatedly denied the allegations.

The lawmaker has previously criticized CNN’s coverage of the allegations, slamming the network last week for having one of the former wrestlers on air multiple times in one day. Jordan claims that the wrestler, Mike DiSabato, has a “vendetta” against him and Ohio State.

More than a dozen of the teams’ former wrestlers have defended Jordan, as have six ex-Buckeye wrestling coaches.

Republican leaders have also come out in defense of the lawmaker since the allegations first emerged. President Trump said last week that he “100 percent” believes Jordan’s denials of the claims, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) have also backed Jordan.

“Jim Jordan is a friend of mine. We haven’t always agreed with each other over the years, but I’ve always known Jim Jordan to be a man of honesty and a man of integrity,” Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told reporters on Wednesday.