Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) was probed about the number of times he spoke to former President Donald Trump on Jan. 6. But in two different interviews, Jordan seemed confused, fumbling around for the right answer. Months later, Jordan still couldn't come up with the answer when asked about it in a House Rules Committee hearing Wednesday about whether to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress.
"Republicans [are] telling their members vote no" on Bannon's contempt charge, noted CNN host Brianna Keilar. "And that includes Congressman Jim Jordan, who defended Trump at a contentious hearing yesterday even though he himself may be called as a witness. The reason: he spoke to Trump on January 6th. Except Jim Jordan can't quite seem to get his story straight."
Jordan claimed he has been "clear" when he spoke to Trump, but even when being asked by the panel, Jordan rambled off that he speaks to Trump all the time.
In an interview with a reporter over a month ago, Jordan was asked, "On Jan. 6th, did you speak with him before, during or after the capitol was attacked?"
"I would have to go -- I -- I spoke with him that day after — I think after. I don't know if I spoke with him in the morning or not. I just don't know. I would have to go back and -- I don't know that -- when those conversations happened. But what I know is I spoke with him all the time," Jordan fumbled at the time.
Brianna Keilar couldn't help but notice, "A month later after having even more time to consider his answer, the infamous 'I don't recall' made an appearance twice."
"Look, I definitely spoke to the president that day," said Jordan on Wednesday. "I don't recall. I know it was more than once. I just don't recall the times."
"Peril" co-author Bob Woodward explained that the whole point of the hearing was to discuss Steve Bannon, who was quoted throughout his book. The main quote Woodward called attention to is when Bannon said that the priority of the Trump team post-2020 is to "strangle the Biden presidency in the crib." It was their effort to "subvert the process of certifying the Biden election," said Woodward.
"Remember, at this time, Trump is president," Woodward recalled. "He's talking to Bannon. He's talking to Jordan. He's talking to Giuliani. He's talking to people we probably don't know about. He had come back from Mar-a-Lago, avoiding reluctantly that New Year's Eve party. So, he can work the phones, so he can make -- we report in our book about his meeting with Pence and saying, 'Don't you think it would be cool if you had this power to decide who is going to be the next president?' And Pence says to his credit, at that point, [says] 'No. I don't think one person should have that power.' And the Constitution and the law make that very clear. But Trump is pushing it, Bannon is pushing it, Giuliani is pushing it. There are others involved in this, and if somebody really looks at it as I think you almost are required to do, as a criminal conspiracy, just like Nixon, to destroy a process of, 'Oh, this is going to be the next president.'"
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