Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent doesn't think there are a lot of options available to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who might be looking for ways to save Donald Trump from prosecution.
Writing Monday, Sargent quoted Jordan as he struggled to defend Trump on CNN Sunday. "This is as political as it gets!" the congressman fumed.
But there isn't much he can do about it, Sargent said.
"MAGA Republicans will expect the House to do everything within its power, but it’s not clear that the House can do all that much — or that many non-MAGA Republicans will even want to," he explained.
Speaking to Dana Bash Sunday, Jordan claimed that Trump repeatedly said that he had declassified everything. Bash noted that, after leaving the White House, Trump was on a recording saying he didn't declassify a document and wished he had. Jordan wouldn't accept it.
Jordan went on to claim that Trump can keep "declassified" information "wherever he wants." To reinforce his confusion, Jordan then admitted he doesn't know if Trump had declassified anything. He simply assumed Trump is telling the truth.
"Someone willing to offer such ludicrous spin will presumably be willing to use his committee to derail the prosecution by any means necessary. So what can Jordan do?" Sargent asked.
The problem for Jordan is that even when it comes to Jordan's current role, heading a committee that's effectively trying to bring down President Joe Biden, he's failed. It's goal was to prove that Biden had weaponized the government against Republicans. However, it has instead drawn increased attention to some of Trump's behavior while working in the White House.
"To be clear, congressional oversight of law enforcement is an essential component of the rule of law. Republicans could theoretically conduct this in good faith and possibly produce genuine evidence of prosecutorial misconduct," said Sargent.
"But Jordan’s track record is awful. He has relied on FBI “whistleblowers” who peddle conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. He has issued subpoenas designed to persuade conservative parents to feel like FBI targets when they aren’t. He has harassed academics who study disinformation to pretend that conservatives are being silenced."
Sargent explained that Jordan is trying to seem like he's doing a lot, but he has landed more misses than hits.
"But if the prosecution of Trump advances, MAGA Republicans might demand not performative strikes but real results. If so, the GOP split will deepen between those who want to go through the motions of defending Trump without aligning themselves too firmly against the rule of law, and those who want the House to treat the fantasy of Trump’s persecution as a genuine MAGA emergency, and act accordingly," he said.
