Until recently, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) had been complying with the requests from the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack.
That ended, however, when former President Donald Trump intervened, according to a Punchbowl News report Monday. Jordan is now refusing to cooperate with the committee.
While Jordan hasn't yet been subpoenaed, he joins Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) in not complying with requests. The Committee already has scores of text messages from former chief of staff Mark Meadows that include messages exchanged between him and Jordan as well as others.
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Speaking to MSNBC on Monday, former FBI agent Peter Strzok explained that Jordan may be refusing to comply now, but that doesn't mean that it's over. Calling it a "terrible day for American democracy," stand-in host John Heilemann asked if the committee has any other choice but to pursue "every legal avenue" to get answers for the committee.
"I think that's absolutely right," agreed Strzok. "I mean, look, one of the issues is that congress right now in good faith has in front of them one of the most significant political acts in our nation's history in the form of the Jan. 6 insurrection. They have an obligation, as you said, to use every tool at their disposal and to try to get to the truth, whether or not it will be fought, whether or not work will be ground to a halt before they complete their work. It doesn't mean they should stop trying to get the information."
At issue are questions about the "speech and debate" clause and what Congress can and can't do with its own members. However, none of that matters outside of Congress. As Strzok explained, the congressional probes "are separate from the parallel ongoing criminal investigation that the Department of Justice is doing right now."
He noted that it's politically expedient for Jordan to say he won't comply and it certainly satisfies the demand of the Republican Party's leader.
"But if he's faced with a grand jury subpoena issued by the Department of Justice, that's an entirely different set of considerations that he has," Strzok continued. "And again, refusing to comply isn't an option. Now, he certainly could invoke the Fifth Amendment and claim that he doesn't want to engage in any sort of statement which might incriminate himself. But there are a number of things going on right now that just because we see the Jan. 6 committee ask for him voluntarily to speak and he declines to do so, that doesn't mean that this debate is over. This doesn't mean at all that Jim Jordan, for all intents and purposes, is never going to provide or speak to the truth or what he did on the days leading up to and true Jan. 6."
See the full conversation below:
If Jim Jordan thinks this is over -- he's wrong www.youtube.com
