GOP Rep. Jim Jordan contests constitutionality of January 6 committee’s subpoena and issues list of demands

By Annie Grayer and Ryan Nobles, CNN

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio is pushing back on a subpoena issued to him by the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, contesting the constitutionality of the request and outlining a list of demands the committee must meet in order for him to even consider moving forward.

In a new letter obtained by CNN, Jordan is asking the committee to provide him with all of the materials it plans on using to question him ahead of any deposition, all of the documents and testimony in the committee’s possession that reference him and an explanation of the legal authority upon which the committee relied in issuing a subpoena.

“I write to strongly contest the constitutionality and validity of the subpoena in several respects,” Jordan wrote.

A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment to CNN.

Jordan is one of five House Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, that the committee subpoenaed earlier this month as part of its investigation. Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Mo Brooks of Alabama have also been subpoenaed. All have deposition dates scheduled over the next two weeks.

In the letter, Jordan stated that the panel did not respond to his initial January letter outlining his concerns when the panel wanted to speak with him voluntarily, even though he said a committee spokesperson had assured him he would get a response “in the coming days.”

“Rather than engaging in good faith about the serious issues I raised on January 9, you abandoned the matter for 123 days, only to abruptly reengage two weeks ago with a sudden and drastic escalation,” Jordan wrote.

The congressman said that while the committee publicly announced its subpoena to him on May 12, he did not receive it until May 16.

Throughout the letter, Jordan tried to delegitimize the committee for a variety of reasons.

“You have not explained the Constitutional basis for the extraordinary claim that a congressional committee may compel the testimony of other Members of Congress,” Jordan wrote in one instance.

He referred to the panel’s subpoena of him as “a dangerous escalation of House Democrats’ pursuit of political vendettas” and accused committee members of leading a partisan investigation that is not designed to seek the truth but instead to settle political scores, specifically with former President Donald Trump.

“Public statements by members of the Select Committee indicate that it seeks to use its subpoena authority for improper motives and for the self-aggrandizement of its members,” Jordan wrote.

He argued that his subpoena is not constitutional or valid because he claims he has “no relevant” information that would advance the committee’s investigation.

The Ohio Republican also asserted that the panel lacked representation of Republicans appointed by the House minority leader, even though he had voted against a bipartisan committee to investigate the Capitol attack.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected McCarthy’s selection of Jordan and GOP Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana to serve on the panel, she would have accepted the Republican leader’s other three picks. Instead, McCarthy pulled the rest of his proposed members from consideration.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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