Having Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) serve as the chair of the House Judiciary Committee was always a risky proposition for Republicans. Jordan is more famous for his grandstanding in conservative media than any acumen 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 sort of investigation into Trump or his administration.
Outside of Speaker Mike Johnson, there is no bigger poster boy for the rubber-stamp Republican House majority than Jim Jordan.
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Jordan’s purpose for running 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 filled their committees with leaders who would be loyal to Trump, Democrats filled their positions with experienced investigators and legislators who know how to use oversight power and navigate congressional hearings effectively.
Rep. Jamie Raskin is one of those Democrats. He is an attorney and constitutional scholar, and a person who understands how to properly and effectively use House oversight.
When Jordan gave Raskin a big opening by trying to investigate former Special Counsel Jack Smith, the Maryland Democrat seized on it.
Jim Jordan wants Jack Smith to testify behind closed doors. Smith wants to testify in public.
Raskin wrote a letter to Jordan urging him to allow Smith to testify before the nation.
Rep. Raskin wrote:
Last week, I applauded your call for transparency about Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into how President Trump knowingly retained hundreds of highly classified records at his Mar-a-Lago club and then defied subpoenas, obstructed law enforcement, actively hid evidence, and lied about his continuing retention of those records. I commended you for apparently joining us in demanding the full release of Mr. Smith’s report—paid for by American taxpayers—as well as all accompanying records which the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been desperately concealing.