News/Commentary

‘Everyone sees this for the political operation that it is!’ Jim Jordan blasts CNN host in heated defense of Trump

June 12, 2023 | | Print Article

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) gave a passionate defense of former President Donald Trump on Sunday during a heated discussion with CNN’s “State of the Union” host Dana Bash, accusing the Department of Justice (DOJ) of executing a “political operation” against President Biden’s most formidable political opponent.

Trump “has said time and time again he declassified all this material,” Jordan told Bash in response to a 2021 recording of a conversation Trump had with writers at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club in which prosecutors claim he admitted the material he was showing them was still classified.

“This is the most political thing I have ever seen!” Jordan fumed. “They have been out get President– They are indicting President Trump on Tuesday for having material that he declassified that was protected by the Secret Service. And the people who are doing it– the administration, the Justice Department, from his opponent in the upcoming presidential election! — I mean, this is just as political as it gets.”

“And frankly,” he continued, “it’s part of a pattern. We have seen it time and time again with the president over the last seven years. They try one thing, then they try another. They have continued to go after him, and I think anyone with common sense can see that.”

Bash challenged Jordan on whether the material referred to on the recording was, in fact, declassified by the former president.

“I go on the president’s word,” Jordan stated. “He said he did, and the Supreme Court said that’s what counts. So we can have all the things [Special Counsel] Jack Smith wants to say, but everyone sees this for the political operation that it is.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“The standard is the standard,” he argued. “I didn’t set the standard, the Constitution and the Supreme Court did.”

“Jack Smith can write whatever he wants,” Jordan added, “but this is so political.”

The Congressman recalled the infamous 2016 dossier — “They knew it was false.” — noting the Mueller investigation in 2018, and the 2020 suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story before Bash yelled over the top of him, “Let me stop you right there, sir!”

“Ever since the 2016 election, they’ve done something,” Jordan noted.

ADVERTISEMENT

Bash lamented the fact that boxes of the documents were found stored in a Mar-a-Lago bathroom, but Jordan shrugged it off.

“Again, Dana, the standard is the standard,” he stated. “The president of the United States, he can classify and he can control access to national security information however he wants. That’s the standard. That’s the Constitution. That’s what the court said in Navy v. Egan in 1988.”

“I don’t know how many more times I can say it,” Jordan said. “If he wants to store material in a box in a bathroom, if he wants to store it in a box on a stage, he can do that. That is just what the law and the standard is.”

“Again, I think this just underscores how political this is,” he added.

As for the obstruction charge, Jordan stated, “You can’t obstruct it when there was not an underlying crime!”

ADVERTISEMENT

The duo ultimately sparred over semantics.

“He says, point blank, on tape as president, ‘I could have declassified it. Now I can’t,'” Bash said. “He says in his own words. It’s on tape as part of this indictment that he did not declassify the material. Therefore, it is classified.”

“Dana, saying he ‘could have’ is not the same as saying he didn’t,” Jordan shot back.

“He said, ‘Now I can’t,'” Bash replied.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Now he can’t, right, because he is not president now,” Jordan said, “but when he was president, he did declassify it.”

“Which means what he was holding was classified!” Bash exclaimed.

“No!” an exasperated Jordan stated. “Not if he declassified it when he was president of the United States, for goodness’ sake.”

 

Melissa Fine
Latest posts by Melissa Fine (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles