All posts tagged "jim jordan"

Jim Jordan called out by GOP strategist for failing to control 'disgraceful' sideshow

A former GOP staffer and current conservative communications strategist went after Pam Bondi on Saturday, and at the same time noted Jim Jordan's failure to rein her in.

Maura Gillespie, who worked for Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and former Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), appeared on MS NOW over the weekend, where she was asked about why many GOP figures have criticized Bondi's recent performance at a hearing before lawmakers.

Gillespie joined in that chorus of conservative voices, saying there's no way to undo the damage Bondi has done. Gillespie accused Bondi of being disrespectful to lawmakers and of "bowing down" to Trump.

She then went on to put pressure on Jordan himself.

"That was a sham of a hearing and I do think Jim Jordan did not do justice to his committee by not holding her more accountable because her outbursts were truly... disgraceful," she said. "And it brings shame not only to the position that she holds, but also the people who work there. I also found that her not willing to turn around and face the victims themselves was particularly egregious, and really just made me wonder what the point was entirely of her even being there, because her entire career, she has just embarrassed herself now because she says she ran to hold, you know, criminals accountable and to bring justice to victims, and she wouldn't even face them."

Pam Bondi hearing erupts into shouting: 'She's embarrassing you!'

A hearing with lawmakers and Attorney General Pam Bondi erupted into an explosive shouting match Wednesday.

Bondi was testifying before lawmakers at a House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Capitol Hill when the tensions heightened, as she started shouting insults, name-calling and interrupting congressional members asking her questions under oath. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) pushed Bondi to respond to the Department of Justice's investigation of late convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and argued that the she and the DOJ had not apologized or acknowledged the survivors whose personal information was unredacted.

"Your'e obsessed with Donald Trump. You have Trump derangement syndrome," Bondi claimed.

Raskin pushed back on Bondi's statement and focused again on Epstein survivors and brought up that Bondi was avoiding responding to lawmakers' questions and not adhering to committee rules.

"I want the whole country to look at this, because this is the attorney general of the United States whose job is law enforcement," Raskin said. "We've never had a witness who has misunderstood our rules and been unable to conform his or her conduct to our rules before. We have only five minutes. And so we use our time to ask you specific questions."

"How long are you giving me to answer?" Bondi interrupted.

"Excuse me? I'm not yielding to you right now," Raskin said. "I'd like that second restored to. So, Miss Bondi, the way it works is we ask you a question and you answer it. And if you go off on a wild goose chase, another tangent. You start reading statistics or you start talking about stuff going on our district. And by the way, I invite you to my district, come to my district. But that's not what we're here to do today. OK. So and you do that, then we're allowed to say we reclaim our time. At that point, you have to be quiet. You have no choice. You have to be quiet."

Raskin demanded a joint task force to investigate the crimes against survivors of Epstein. That's when Bondi started discussing another topic and interrupting again.

Raskin responded to Bondi's remarks and directed his comments to chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).

"This is your committee, and she is embarrassing you," Raskin said.

Jack Smith gets warning GOP has set a trap

A legal expert Thursday revealed how former Special Counsel Jack Smith's testimony on his investigations into President Donald Trump could open him up to perjury charges.

CNN senior justice correspondent Evan Perez described why Smith was pausing before answering each question during his first public testimony with the House Judiciary Committee.

"There's a perjury trap over this entire hearing," Perez said. "They are watching every single word, and he is, I think he is weighing every single word. He cannot diverge from his previous testimony, he did a deposition in December, and I think he's trying to be careful and that's what you're seeing, the tentativeness at the beginning. It's pretty clear he's comfortable with what he did and he still believes that he would do it again."

Smith was speaking on his decision to prosecute Trump on a series of federal crimes in 2023. He wasted no time declaring that Trump "broke the law" at a congressional hearing Thursday.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chair of the committee, delivered a scathing opening statement, accusing Smith of acting under "politics" and complaining about “stolen phone records."

“We’re going to hear a lot of yelling and screaming from the other side," Jordan claimed before the testimony.

Smith, a career federal prosecutor, was appointed as a special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to investigate Trump's handling of classified documents and his role in the events surrounding the Insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

Smith led high-profile criminal investigations and prosecutions against Trump on multiple counts, including obstruction of justice and violations of the Espionage Act related to classified materials at Mar-a-Lago, though the cases faced significant legal challenges and delays, with Trump ultimately avoiding trial on these charges following his 2024 election victory.

Bill and Hillary Clinton should testify over Epstein, top Dem says

WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton should testify before a congressional committee about their links with Jeffrey Epstein, a senior Democratic senator told Raw Story.

“People get subpoenaed, they should show up,” Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) told Raw Story at the Capitol Wednesday.

The Clintons have rejected Republican attempts to force them to testify about links to Epstein, the late financier and sex offender, setting up a clash with Rep. James Comer (R-KY), chair of the powerful House Oversight Committee.

Earlier this week, lawyers for the Clintons released a lengthy letter rejecting the legal premise of Comer’s subpoena.

In their own blistering letter to Comer, the Clintons pointed out that the Department of Justice had not fully complied with a law mandating that it release all files related to investigations of Epstein.

“Comer should subpoena [the] DOJ,” Luján said, laughing.

Under Attorney General Pam Bondi, a close ally of President Donald Trump, the DOJ is widely seen to be dragging its feet on the Epstein matter.

Trump’s once-close friendship with Epstein, a convicted sex trafficker who killed himself in prison in New York in 2019, is an enduring subject of fascination, reporting, gossip, and festering scandal.

“Look,” Luján said. “What Comer does, if he's gonna subpoena people, he should subpoena everyone that needs to be subpoenaed, and pull them in.

“And if he wants to make this look political, Comer is doing a pretty good job of that.

“But anyone involved in all of this Epstein bulls—, they should come in and they should fess up and the truth should be shared with the American people, right? No matter who they are, because everybody, because this was so bipartisan, everybody should do it. I mean, that's how I would describe it.”

The Epstein affair has indeed ensnared a number of prominent public figures. Bill Clinton has prominently featured in DOJ releases since Congress passed a law mandating such transparency. Trump’s name has also been shown to be in such Epstein files.

Trump has named the Clintons among liberal figures he says should be investigated in relation to Epstein.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, after theatrically displaying an empty chair during a supposed deposition of Bill Clinton, Comer said: “Jeffrey Epstein visited the White House 17 times while Bill Clinton was president.

“No one’s accusing Bill Clinton of anything, any wrongdoing. We just have questions.”

Comer also said he would charge the Clintons with contempt of Congress.

Speaking to the right-wing Real America’s Voice TV network, Comer said: "We expect the Clintons to come in, or I expect the Clintons to be met with the same fate that [Steve] Bannon and [Peter] Navarro were met with when the Democrats were in control.”

Bannon and Navarro, close Trump aides and advisers, both served prison time after refusing to answer subpoenas for testimony as part of investigations of the deadly January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump’s supporters.

Democrats rejected Comer’s threats as political posturing.

On Wednesday, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), a target of Trump’s demands that his political enemies be prosecuted, told Raw Story Comer was not the only Republican in Congress working to Trump’s benefit in matters relating to Epstein.

“I think this is a political exercise by Jim Jordan,” Schiff said, referring to the Ohio Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.

“I think they will lose in court if it's litigated. But I think this is designed to deflect attention from the president's withholding of all the Epstein files.”

CNN host fact checks Jim Jordan live to his face: 'Fentanyl doesn’t come from Venezuela'

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) took to CNN Sunday to defend President Donald Trump’s unprecedented attack and takeover of Venezuela as being “America first,” but was quickly rebuked after floating a debunked claim about the South American nation’s role in drug trafficking.

“[Trump] says he's running Venezuela, he's totally open to putting boots back on the ground there, and he's signaling that Cuba and Colombia could be next,” said CNN’s Dana Bash. “How is that America first?”

Jordan first argued that the Trump administration’s attack on Venezuela and kidnapping of its president was widely supported by “most Americans,” and despite recent polls suggesting the polar opposite. He then leaned into frequent talking points among conservatives that Venezuela played a significant role in the trafficking of fentanyl.

"It's consistent with keeping drugs off the streets,” Jordan said. “I know folks in the fourth district of Ohio and what fentanyl and other drugs have done to some families that I get the privilege of representing.”

Bash immediately tried to interject, only for Jordan to continue to speak over her about the supposed popularity of the Trump administration’s attack. Bash again moved to rebuke Jordan.

“Fentanyl doesn't come from Venezuela,” Bash said bluntly.

“Cozying up to China and Iran, which are part of that, certainly does!” Jordan fired back.

According to a 2025 report from Trump's own Drug Enforcement Administration, Venezuela plays virtually no role in the production or trafficking of fentanyl, which is primarily produced in Mexico.

Rep. @Jim_Jordan called out on CNN for floating the debunked claim that Venezuela trafficks fentanyl into the U.S.

Nearly all fentanyl that enters the U.S. comes from Mexico. pic.twitter.com/7ddPLDkpJz
— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) January 4, 2026

GOP brutally mocked for claiming Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 'definitely a Republican'

The official X account for the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee posted a Christmas Eve message declaring Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is “definitely a Republican.”

The account for the committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) then proceeded to tick down a list of qualities that it deemed specific to the Republican brand, including “Doubted by the elites,” “pulled himself up by his bootstraps,” “faced adversity” and “carried the team when others couldn’t.”

Social media quickly flushed the claim, with one X user pointing out that, “He wasn’t on Epstein’s island, [though].”

Philadelphia attorney Adam Bonin said on Bluesky that the GOP totally pegged the story wrong.

“‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ is a story about the need for inclusive hiring practices which recognize everyone's unique talents and refuse to see ‘difference’ as an automatic negative,” Bonin posted. “The Republicans in that story were the other reindeer who laughed at Rudolph and called him names.”

“Also, super gay, though nobody recognizes it. So, yeah, Republican,” added astrophysicist Robert Rutledge on X.

“When did he sell out to mega corporations and foreign governments?” demanded another X user.

“I thought the GOP was like the other reindeer because they all have brown noses,” quipped another Bluesky user.

'That's going to be a problem': Jim Jordan menaces Jack Smith before secretive hearing

Former special counsel Jack Smith is scheduled to testify in a closed-door session before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) signaled his antagonistic approach when speaking with reporters ahead of the hearing.

Smith had requested a public hearing, which Jordan declined. The closed-door session will focus on Smith's investigations into Donald Trump, which were discontinued following the president's re-election.

According to Politico, Smith faces significant constraints regarding what he can disclose to the committee. Reporters Hailey Fuchs and Kyle Cheney note that these limitations could provoke confrontations with Republicans seeking to place Smith in legal jeopardy. "Smith must navigate Byzantine secrecy laws and rules that limit what he can disclose to lawmakers. All the while, Republicans are looking to trip him up and incriminate him, to portray him as a tool of a weaponized Justice Department — an allegation they've brandished amid recent revelations that Smith obtained phone records of at least eight GOP senators as part of his probe into Trump's efforts to subvert the 2020 election results."

Jordan indicated he intends to pressure Smith regardless of legal restrictions. He told reporters, "What they did all along, everything was wrong … a lot of things that were just not normal course of investigation or prosecution. If he comes in and doesn't answer questions, that's going to be a problem."

As a former DOJ prosecutor, Smith is limited in what he can reveal. While the department issued a waiver, uncertainty remains about its scope.

Additional complications arise from a Florida federal judge's 11-month prohibition on releasing details from Smith's classified documents investigation report. Trump has urged the judge to maintain this restriction indefinitely, further constraining what Smith can legally discuss about that probe.

House Judiciary Committee Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) countered Jordan's approach, stating, "They are trying to get him on the fast road to one of their ridiculous prosecutions."

You can read more here.

'Ears perk up in the room' as Jim Jordan makes 'very interesting' admission: report

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) reportedly warned Republicans that they better "have a health care plan" that addresses subsidies for the Affordable Care Act and reforms.

According to a report provided by Punchbowl's Jake Sherman, Jordan seemed to admit that Republicans have not yet settled on a health care plan during a meeting with his caucus.

"IN THE HOUSE REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE MEETING -- JIM JORDAN said that Republicans should have a health care plan to marry real reforms with subsidies. If not, mods will succeed on a discharge and there will be no reforms," Sherman noted on Wednesday.

"VERY interesting. Made a lot of ears perk up in the room."

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said that there will be at least one vote on health care legislation by the end of the year.

'Not so fast': Ex-prosecutor blows up Jim Jordan's 'not-too-veiled' threat on Jack Smith

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) recently sent a "not-too-veiled" threat to ex-Special Counsel Jack Smith, and one former federal prosecutor has a message for him: "Not so fast."

Ex-prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote on Substack about Jordan and other Republicans, who are accusing Smith of operating the prosecution of Trump in an inappropriate manner. Specifically, GOP lawmakers have protested against reports that Smith had sought their call information in connection with an investigation into Jan. 6.

"ABC reported today that the House Judiciary Committee wants to have former special counsel Jack Smith testify—behind closed doors—about investigating the Mar-a-Lago, January 6, and Donald Trump. Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican who chairs the Committee, wants an interview by October 28. He is calling for Smith to turn over documents and communications too," Vance wrote. "Why now? Last week, there was reporting (very unsurprising to anyone who has ever investigated a federal case) that Smith’s probe obtained phone records regarding a number of Republican lawmakers as part of the January 6 case investigation. Jordan wrote to Smith, 'As the Committee continues its oversight, your testimony is necessary to understand the full extent to which the Biden-Harris Justice Department weaponized federal law enforcement.'"

But Vance had a message for Jordan and others: "Not so fast."

"Not so fast, though. Obtaining phone records means getting call information—that can mean which phone number called which other phone number, when, and possibly, how long the call lasted. It’s easy to understand why prosecutors would want that information in virtually any case they’re investigating," according to Vance. "Here, given reports that Trump had numerous calls leading up to and on January 6 (for instance, one with brand new Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville), it would be surprising if they hadn’t done so."

Vance went on to say that Jordan’s allegation that this is the weaponization of the DOJ "should fall on deaf ears."

"Jack Smith was investigating one of the most serious situations our country has ever faced—an effort to interfere with the smooth transfer of power between two American administrations, with involvement by the outgoing president who had lost the election—using routine investigative techniques," the ex-prosecutor wrote. "Jordan and other Republicans should be able to differentiate between that and wiretaps, since these are statutory creatures and Congress sets the requirements for when they can be used."

She added, "Jordan admonished Smith that he was 'ultimately responsible for the prosecutorial misconduct and constitutional abuses of your office,' a comment that is a not-too-veiled threat in the era of revenge prosecutions."

Read the full post here.

'On the table': Jim Jordan opens the door to impeaching judges who restrain Trump

House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) is making noises that he is open to the idea of impeaching judges who use the law to restrain Donald Trump’s policies that do not pass constitutional muster.

In an interview with the Washington Times, the blustery Ohio Republican claimed he feels there are also criminal cases that can be made against former high-ranking government officials who have become critics of Trump's policies.

Singling out former CIA director John Brennan he stated, “It looks to me like he may have misled Congress. We are looking at that.”

As for the balking judges, the Times report notes Jordan explained, “The history of our great country has been you don’t impeach judges for stupid decisions, or bad decisions, what we, and common sense, would say is a poor decision. But I don’t think you should rule out impeachment.”

Admitting the way to combat a disputed ruling is through the appeals process, he was quick to point out the high success rate Trump has had with the Supreme Court as a reason not to waste time.

Addressing several judges who have drawn the ire of the president’s MAGA supporters in Congress, Jordan added, “You use every avenue you can, and then if you have to go to impeachment, that’s something that should be on the table.”

Jordan also gave a thumbs up to the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, calling it “appropriate.”

You can read more here.