The House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on Wednesday sent a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan seeking further information regarding his alleged correspondence with President Donald Trump.
The committee asked for “any discussions involving the possibility of presidential pardons” for those involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, said the letter.
The Ohio Republican is the second sitting member of Congress to receive a formal letter from the committee as the panel expands its focus on Trump-allies on Capitol Hill.
“We understand that you had at least one and possibly multiple communications with President Trump on January 6th,” wrote Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the Mississippi Democrat leading the committee. “We would like to discuss each such communication with you in detail.”
The committee also is seeking details of Mr. Jordan’s contacts with Mr. Trump’s legal team and others from the White House who they say met in a “war room” in the Willard Hotel near the White House in the days leading up to Jan. 6.
The committee said news reports suggest Mr. Jordan may have insight into meetings that took place in November and December 2020 in which White House officials discussed strategies to overturn the election.
“Of course, the events on the day of January 6th are not our only focus,” Mr. Thompson wrote.
Last week, Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat on the committee, revealed a text message from a Mr. Jordan to former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows proposing that Vice President Mike Pence refuse to certify the election results.
The text was turned over to the committee by Mr. Meadows in a trove of documents he provided during his brief period of cooperation with the probe.
The letter is not a subpoena but still represents an escalation in the committees’ effort to elicit information from Congress members.
Earlier this week, the committee addressed a similar letter to Rep. Scott Perry, Pennsylvania Republican, who the committee said was involved in efforts to install former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark as attorney general following his efforts to challenge the 2020 election results.
Both letters strike a cordial tone when compared to correspondence with other witnesses the committee has compelled to testify. Mr. Thompson reiterated in both letters that lawmakers’ cooperation would be voluntary.
Mr. Jordan was one of four Republicans who House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, appointed to serve on the Democrat-controlled committee.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, rejected Mr. Jordan’s appointment as well as that of Rep. Jim Banks, Indiana Republican, leading to a Republican boycott of the committee.
Mrs. Pelosi then hand-picked two vocal anti-Trump Republicans — Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — to serve on the committee.
Many have speculated that the committee would go after Mr. Jordan, a staunch ally of the former president.
When asked in October if he would turn over information to the panel, Mr. Jordan said he had “nothing to hide.”
“I’ve been straightforward all along,” he said.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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