Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of the Donald Trump’s biggest loyalists in Congress, is demanding a memo from the Department of Justice about the federal documents case.
Donald Trump Has Some Powerful Allies
Congress does not have the power to block a criminal investigation by the Justice Department. But when it comes to the ongoing probe into former President Trump’s handling of classified documents, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is doing all he can to complicate matters.
Jordan is one of Trump’s biggest supporters and defenders in Congress, and has been so going back to the earliest investigations during the Trump Administration.
According to NBC News Jordan, who is now the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has demanded that the Justice Department provide to his committee “internal documents laying out the scope of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents.”
The demand came in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
In it, Jordan asked for “an unredacted copy of the memorandum outlining the scope of Mr. Smith’s probes regarding President Trump and any supporting documentation related to his appointment as special counsel.”
It’s not clear if such a memorandum actually exists, and if it does, whether there is any reason why the Justice Department would need to hand it over to Congress.
This week, it was reported that a second grand jury, this one in South Florida, has been empaneled in connection with the documents case. The other grand jury, which is scheduled to convene later this week but is believed to be wrapping up its work, is located in Washington.
“In recent days, Smith’s prosecutors have also sought testimony related to the documents probe before a grand jury in southern Florida, in what some people familiar with the process said appeared to be an effort to tie up several loose ends,” the Wall Street Journal reported this week. The Florida grand jury is scheduled to hear from a new witness this week. South Florida is the location of Mar-a-Lago, where many of the alleged violations took place.
After Trump’s attorneys met on Monday with Justice Department personnel, the former president seemed under the impression that he will in fact be charged with a crime in the case.
“HOW CAN DOJ POSSIBLY CHARGE ME, WHO DID NOTHING WRONG, WHEN NO OTHER PRESIDENT’S WERE CHARGED, WHEN JOE BIDEN WON’T BE CHARGED FOR ANYTHING, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT HE HAS 1,850 BOXES, MUCH OF IT CLASSIFIED, AND SOME DATING BACK TO HIS SENATE DAY WHEN EVEN DEMOCRAT SENATORS ARE SHOCKED,” the former president posted to Truth Social, in all caps.
Back in January, Jordan had sought to intervene after Trump’s indictment in New York. He held a field hearing in New York, to showcase the levels of crime in that city under District Attorney Alvin Bragg, while asking for members of Bragg’s offices to testify before Congress. In April, Bragg sued Jordan, in federal court, accusing Jordan of a “brazen and unconstitutional attack” on his prosecution of Trump, and claiming the Congressman had engaged in a “transparent campaign to intimidate and attack” Bragg.
“Rather than allowing the criminal process to proceed in the ordinary course, Chairman Jordan and the committee are participating in a campaign of intimidation, retaliation and obstruction,” Bragg’s suit said, per the New York Times.
Also this week, per the Washington Post, Jordan’s committee has demanded emails and meetings from leading disinformation researchers. This week, Jordan and staffers met with University of Washington professor Kate Starbird, a leading researcher in that space.
“The political part is intimidating — to have people with a lot of power in this world making false claims, false accusations about our work,” Starbird told the newspaper. “We are putting that out of our minds and doubling down on the work, but we’re stepping a little bit away from the spotlight, because those tactics work.”
Expertise and Experience: Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
