January 6 committee asks for Jim Jordan's "voluntary cooperation"
The House January 6 select committee is asking for Republican Congressman Jim Jordan's "voluntary cooperation" in its investigation, requesting that he meet with the committee and provide information about events and conversations leading up to and on the day of the assault on the Capitol.
The committee's chairman, Congressman Bennie Thompson, noted in a letter to the Ohio congressman that Jordan appeared to have had "at least one communication and possibly multiple communications with President Trump on January 6th." Thompson also recalled that Jordan had indicated in October that he would be willing to cooperate with the committee.
"When you were asked during a Rules Committee hearing on October 20, 2021, whether you would be willing to share with the Select Committee the information you have regarding January 6th and the events leading up to that day, you responded, 'I've said all along, I have nothing to hide. I've been straightforward all along,'" Thompson said in the letter.
Thompson said he's also interested in anything Jordan knows about communication Trump had with White House officials about strategies for overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election.
On Fox News Wednesday night, Jordan said he's reviewing the committee's letter but has "real concerns" about its tactics. He made an indirect reference to a text message cited last week by the panel that he sent to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Jordan claimed the panel presented an "altered" version of the message in revealing it.
The message argued that the certification of the 2020 election could be blocked by then-Vice President Pence.
The January 6 committee has issued a number of subpoenas to former Trump supporters and former White House officials as they probe what happened leading up to the January 6 assault on the nation's Capitol. The former president says he'll hold a press conference on January 6, the first anniversary of the riot, to discuss his complaints about the election results.
"I will be having a news conference on January 6th at Mar-a-Lago to discuss all of these points, and more," he said. "Until then, remember, the insurrection took place on November 3rd, it was the completely unarmed protest of the rigged election that took place on January 6th."
Last week, the House voted to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress. Meadows had already turned over a number of records to the committee.
Meanwhile, retired General Michael Flynn, who was Trump's national security adviser, is suing the select committee to try to invalidate a subpoena for his documents and testimony.