Jan. 6 committee seeks interview with GOP Rep. Jordan
WASHINGTON » The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection requested an interview and information from Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on Wednesday, the second time this week the committee publicly sought to interview a sitting member of Congress.
In a letter to Jordan, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, Democratic chairman of the panel, said the panel wants the lawmaker to provide information for its investigation surrounding his communications with then-President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, and Trump’s efforts to challenge the result of the 2020 election.
The request is the second by the nine-member panel this week, and launches a new phase for the lawmakers on the committee, who have resisted going after one of their own as they investigate the insurrection by supporters and his efforts to overturn the election.
Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania on Tuesday rebuffed a request for him to sit down for an interview and turn over documents to the House panel.
In a statement, Perry called the committee “illegitimate.”
In a letter to Perry on Monday night, Thompson said the panel had received evidence from multiple witnesses, including then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and then-acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, that Perry had “an important role” in efforts to install Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general.
Also in the letter, Thompson added that while the panel “has tremendous respect for the prerogatives of Congress and the privacy of its Members,” it also has “a solemn responsibility to investigate fully all of these facts and circumstances.”
The committee has also asked for any documents and correspondence between Perry and Trump, his legal team or anyone involved in the planning of Jan. 6 events.