Jim Jordan defends White House hiding transcripts, says administration has to protect against leaks

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) defended the White House placing a transcript of a call with a foreign leader on a secret server, saying the administration has to protect against leaks.

Jordan, in an interview Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” cited a Senate study that he said found “more leaks in the first five months, state security leaks in the first five months of the
Trump administration than any other administration.”

{mosads}“They should be putting everything in with folks around you leaking everything,” Jordan said. 

CNN’s Jake Tapper countered, “The leaks are of accurate information.”

The transcript of President Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the placement of the transcript on a secret server are both focuses of an impeachment inquiry into Trump. 

Jordan also defended the call, telling Tapper that “there’s nothing there” and using similar rhetoric to Trump in calling the impeachment inquiry an attack.  

.@jaketapper presses GOP Rep. Jim Jordan about the facts of the President’s phone call with Ukraine and calling into question the credibility of the whistleblower complaint. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/ey5PrSKzTk

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) September 29, 2019

The call, which the White House released a partial transcript of, shows Trump asking Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 candidate, and Biden’s son. 

“That doesn’t alarm you?” Tapper asked Jordan. 

“It’s not OK because he didn’t — but he didn’t do that,” Jordan responded. 

“It’s in the transcript,” Tapper said. 

“You guys don’t read things in context,” Jordan responded 

The whistleblower complaint also alleges White House officials were directed to remove the electronic transcript from the system that stores such calls. The White House reportedly confirmed the call was placed on a highly classified system, according to The Associated Press. 

Almost all House Democrats are backing the impeachment inquiry Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) launched into Trump last week. One Republican, Rep. Mark Amodei (Nev.), came out in support of the inquiry.