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Say what you want about House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), at least he is consistent: If you are trying to hold Donald Trump to account in any way, Jordan is coming for you.
True to form, that is exactly what he did on Thursday. Just hours before the former president was expected to turn himself in for processing at the Fulton County Jail, Jordan sent a wide-ranging request for documents to District Attorney Fani Willis (D), who had charged Trump with a conspiracy to overturn the results of Georgia’s 2020 election.
In his letter, the GOP lawmaker questioned the motivation of the district attorney for bringing the case against Trump. Apparently, undermining US democracy and trying to steal an election are insufficient grounds for levying criminal charges against high-ranking government officials.
Specifically, Jordan wrote that “the circumstances surrounding your actions raise serious concerns about whether they are politically motivated.”
As evidence, he cites the “timing of this prosecution.”
Noting that Willis began her probe shortly after Trump tried to pressure Georgia officials to overturn the will of the people, Jordan points out that the district attorney “did not bring charges until two-and-a-half years later, at a time when the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination is in full swing.”
Just like Trump, who has said the same thing, Jordan seems to think that putting together a solid case against a former president and 18 codefendants for coup-related activities should have been done more quickly.
It is an interesting argument, especially in light of Trump’s claims that he has essentially wrapped up the nomination already, so it really shouldn’t make a difference to him.
But the point of the letter isn’t to make sense; it’s to get Willis to turn over a slew of documents related to the probe.
Specifically, Jordan is requesting all documents and communications related to her office’s receipt and use of federal funds, as well as all documents and communications between her office and DOJ or “any federal Executive Branch officials” in connection with the case.
If you are familiar with Jordan’s work and his attempts to weaponize the levers of government on Trump’s behalf, you may remember that the lawmaker has sent similar letters to everybody else who is prosecuting the former president.
The best part of this letter is that Jordan seems to make the case that trying to overturn an election is part of a president’s job description, and charging one with crimes related to those efforts could dissuade others from doing the same. Of course, that’s not how the lawmaker puts it, but it is what Jordan is saying once you read between the lines.
“The threat of future state prosecution for official acts may dissuade federal officers from effectively performing their official duties and responsibilities,” the lawmaker writes.
Tough to see where the problem would be with that if those “official duties and responsibilities” are related to a coup.
