Jim Jordan looking at 'jail time' if he defies Capitol riot committee: former US attorney
During an appearance on MSNBC's "The Sunday Show," former U.S. Attorney Barabra McQuade agreed with host Jonathan Capehart that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) doesn't "have a leg to stand on" if he defies the House select committee and refuses to talk if they subpoena him.
Stating it would be "unprecedented" McQuade said Jordan could nonetheless end up in jail while talking about the lawmaker and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) who could also be subpoenaed
"You know, the word unprecedented is sometimes overused I think in these days," the former Justice Department official told the host. "But this is absolutely a situation that's unprecedented, subpoenaing a member of Congress. As a professional courtesy, they have first been requested to come forward, but if they continue to refuse, Chairman [Bennie] Thompson (D-MS) said they will use subpoenas if necessary."
"I imagine they will fight them, you know, asserting some of the same legal arguments we heard from others," she continued. "But I think, if Congress wants this information, there is nothing in the law that prohibits them from issuing subpoenas to fellow members of Congress."
Focusing on Jordan after watching a clip of him admitting he spoke with former president Donald Trump, the smirking McQuade added, "Well, I think at some point if he continues to fight, then the committee will demand that he come by issuing a subpoena. At that point his options are to be held in contempt, which can include jail time if he is prosecuted for that crime; so the same path that we have seen for Steve Bannon. So I think it is going to be difficult for him to manage, because unlike Steve Bannon, he's an elected official."
"At some point I think his refusal to testify could impact his candidacy down the road," she added. "Of course, he represents a base that perhaps would see that sort of defiance as being more attractive rather than less attractive. He's clearly somebody who has information. I think if I put somebody on the stand with that kind of evasive answer, I would use that as evidence of consciousness of guilt. I want to know what they discussed that day, before that day, and after that day."
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