Jim Jordan shredded by CNN fact check over excuse for blowing off January 6 committee

On Wednesday, writing for CNN, fact-checker Tara Subramaniam tore apart the excuses laid out in a letter by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) for refusing to comply with information requests from the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection.

First of all, Subramaniam looked at Jordan's claim that he has "no relevant information that would assist the Select Committee." "Committee Chair Bennie Thompson requested Jordan's cooperation on the basis that he 'had at least one and possibly multiple communications with President Trump on January 6th.' A January 6 select committee spokesperson said in response to Jordan's letter that due to these communications he does have information the committee is seeking and is a 'material witness.'"

Then, there was the claim from Jordan that Pelosi "failed to consult with Leader McCarthy" about appointing Republicans, and the committee was thus invalid. "McCarthy initially selected five GOP members to serve on the committee," noted Subramaniam. "Pelosi rejected two, Jordan and Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, but accepted the other three. However, McCarthy pulled all five members in response to Pelosi's rejection. Pelosi then selected Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger to represent the GOP on the panel."

READ MORE: Trump ridiculed for 'melting down again' after abrupt NPR interview exit

Jordan also claimed that Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) "doctored" a text message by former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, but in reality, "every word he said was included in Meadows' message." And he claimed that the committee had put telecommunications companies under a "gag order" preventing them from revealing to Trump allies on their networks that they were turning over communications information, but in fact, "after the committee issued its latest round of phone record subpoenas, Verizon did inform its customers they would need to file in court by January 5 if they wanted to try to block the panel from getting the records, according to some of the filings."

Lastly, noted Subramaniam, Jordan claimed the committee "falsely accused former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik of attending a meeting in Washington on January 5, 2021, when Kerik was actually in New York City." In fact, Kerik helped organize the so-called Trump "command center" at the Willard Hotel whether or not he was physically present there.

Jordan has given inconsistent answers as to when and how much contact he had with Trump about the activities on January 6. He made public his decision to defy the committee on Sunday, despite maintaining that he has "nothing to hide" about his actions.