It’s all downhill from here for Jim Jordan
Headlines from both Raw Story and Newsweek proclaimed that Jim Jordan’s whistleblower hearing descended into chaos. What a shock. It is inevitable that anything involving Jordan becomes chaotic. He is an incompetent hack who serves no useful purpose, but the same could be said about virtually every Republican.
Jordan’s “weaponization” committee met to discuss so-called FBI abuses. After hearing from three witnesses-two suspended and one former FBI agents, Democrat Stacey Plaskett-who is a ranking member on the committee-inquired why Jordan had not shared transcripts with Democratic members. Classless as usual, Jordan told Plaskett that “right now, you’re not getting the testimony.” From there, things went steadily downhill.
Debbie Wasserman (D-FL) said to Jordan: “It’s my understanding that the minority in this committee under the rules is entitled to the same testimony, information, and documents that the majority is entitled to.” Jordan bluntly responded: “When it comes to [FBI] whistleblowers, you’re not.” Wow. Aren’t they all on the same committee? If the committee has been assembled to make legislative decisions on an issue, shouldn’t every member of the committee hear the evidence that leads to those decisions? Apparently, not if Jim Jordan is in charge. What an ass. Perhaps Jordan is hiding something from the Democrats on the committee. Raw Story certainly seems to think he is, based on a recent report.
According to Washington Post, two of the witnesses had their security clearances revoked because of security concerns. No wonder they’re ready to testify against the FBI. Can you say, “disgruntled employees?” WaPo reported that acting assistant director Christopher Dunham responded to Jordan’s subpoena by advising him that former agent Stephen Friend and suspended (without pay) agent Marcus Allen had their clearances revoked. While both Friend and Allen claim that they were “retaliated against,” Dunham advised Jordan that both violated rules and guidelines multiple times, and as a result, their clearances were yanked. Dunham offered to provide Jennifer Moore, the FBI’s executive assistant director of human resources, to return and testify on the revoked clearances. Jordan declined, and the reason is obvious. This all makes Jordan look like the fool he is. He is so hell-bent on avenging Donald Trump that he cannot objectively lead this committee. Instead, he has turned it into a politically motivated joke.
Why the clearances were revoked is telling. With respect to Friend, his revocation letter states that he refused to execute a court-ordered arrest warrant, made unauthorized downloads and dissemination of sensitive FBI information, and the list goes on. Friend also “espoused alternative theories” about January 6. Allen’s was revoked for “personal conduct” and questions about his “allegiance to the United States.” He, too, had some involvement in hiding information relative to January 6 that caused concern. These are Jim Jordan’s “star” witnesses? Is this the best he can do? The choice of these two disgraced FBI agents tells us everything we need to know about Jim Jordan and his “weaponization” committee. Like him, it is a bad joke. The joke, unfortunately, is on the American public, as Jordan continues to waste time and taxpayer dollars on nonexistent “investigations.”
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years