Jim Jordan declines an interview request on January 6, leaving the committee with the decision of whether to subpoena legislators

Rep. Jim Jordan told the House Judiciary Committee on Sunday night that he will not sit for an interview, putting the panel in a difficult position of deciding how far it will go to obtain information from Republican congressmen as the investigation enters what may be its most politically volatile stage yet.

“As you well know, I have no relevant information that would assist the Select Committee in advancing any legitimate legislative purpose,” Jordan, R-Ohio, stated in a letter on Sunday. Representative Jordan criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Capitol Police for apparently failing to prepare for the attack. Jordan is not the first legislator to refuse to testify before the committee. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., notified the Committee just several days early that he’d be inaccessible for an interview on January 6th.

Now, the subcommittee, led by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., must decide what steps it will take to collect testimony from those lawmakers, including perhaps issuing subpoenas. It appeared to leave that possibility open in a statement to Fox News. Mr. Jordan originally stated that he would participate with the committee’s probe, but now it indicates that the Trump administration has encouraged him to try to conceal the circumstances of the case of January 6th, according to a committee spokeswoman. In the following days, the Select Committee shall reply to this letter in further detail and will deem acceptable future measures.

Jordan’s rejection was also questioned by the committee, which suggested he was missing the point by arguing he couldn’t speak to Speaker Pelosi’s failure to ensure a proper overall security there at Capitol complex, and that a worry about ‘optics’ related to police’s minimal security response. According to the spokesman, Mr. Jordan’s letter fails to address the primary reason for the Select Committee’s request for a meeting, including the fact that Jordan collaborated closely alongside President Trump and the Trump legal team to seek to reverse the rightful results of the 2020 presidential election. Mr. Jordan has acknowledged to speaking with President Trump directly on January 6th and is therefore a significant witness.

Jordan, who was nominated to the committee under House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and was rejected a seat by Pelosi, also criticized the committee for apparently being biased and attempting a “prejudiced” result. I have no faith that any evidence I could supply are represented properly or honestly by the committee, he stated. because it approaches 2022, the committee incorporates a condensed timeframe, with Republicans guaranteed to retake the House just at the beginning of next year. This might hamper the efforts to compel evidence from obstinate Republicans, since the case could become delayed in court for months.