Letting Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) chair the House Judiciary Committee was always a risky proposition for Republicans. Jordan is known more for his majesty in the conservative media than for any insight or expertise within the House of Representatives.
Jordan’s main qualification is that he is endlessly loyal to Donald Trump and would never allow the Judiciary Committee to conduct any investigation into Trump or his administration.
Outside of Speaker Mike Johnson, there is no bigger poster boy for the Republican House majority than Jim Jordan.
Jordan’s goal in leading the Judiciary Committee is to abuse its power to investigate those who tried to hold Donald Trump accountable for alleged crimes.
While Republicans in the House of Representatives filled their committees with leaders who would be loyal to Trump, Democrats filled their positions with experienced investigators and lawmakers who know how to use oversight power and effectively navigate congressional hearings.
Representative Jamie Raskin is one of those Democrats. He is a lawyer and constitutional scholar, and someone who understands how to use the House’s oversight appropriately and effectively.
When Jordan Raskin gave Raskin a big opening by trying to investigate former special counsel Jack Smith, the Maryland Democrat jumped at the chance.
Jim Jordan wants Jack Smith to testify behind closed doors. Smith wants to testify publicly.
Raskin wrote a letter to Jordan urging him to let Smith testify before the nation.
Representative Raskin wrote:
Last week, I applauded your call for transparency about Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into how President Trump knowingly kept hundreds of highly classified documents at his club at Mar-a-Lago and then defied subpoenas, obstructed law enforcement, actively hid evidence, and lied about his continued custody of those documents. I commend you for apparently joining us in demanding the full release of Mr. Smith’s report – paid for by American taxpayers – and all associated documents that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has desperately concealed.
