Jim Jordan defends Trump administration's decision to put Ukraine transcript on secure server

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Rep. Jim Jordan on Ukraine controversy, House Democrats' impeachment push

Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, Republican member of the House Oversight Committee, joins Bret Baier on 'Special Report.'

As the impeachment fight between President Trump and House Democrats continues to escalate, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, defended the administration's decision to place the Ukraine transcript on a secure server, due to the high volume of leaks within the White House. 

Trump was criticized for ordering the transcript of his call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be placed on a separate server, leading congressional Democrats to believe he was attempting to hide something nefarious. 

"You know why they put it in the classified server? There was a study... done by the Senate in 2017. [There were] more leaks in the first five months, state security leaks in the first five months of the Trump administration than any other administration," Jordan told Jake Tapper, on "State of the Union" Sunday. 

"They should be putting everything in there, with folks around you who are leaking information... If I'm the Trump administration, I'd be putting every communication in this [server]." 

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Tapper pushed back and accused Jordan of trying to stifle the facts, while Jordan said the whistleblower didn't even have first-hand knowledge of the events in question. 

"Who are you going to believe? The guy who had firsthand knowledge and who was on the call, President Zelensky... or the guy who didn’t have first-hand knowledge and had a motive against the president?" Jordan asked.

He also defended Trump's request for Ukraine officials to investigate 2020 presidential hopeful Joe Biden and his son Hunter, claiming nepotism and corruption drove their business dealings with the foreign nation. He also blamed the media for running interference for them. 

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"[Hunter Biden] got paid $50,000, Jake," Jordan said. "$50,000 a month for several years... [he] gets hired by a company in an industry he has no experience in, and oh, that’s fine and all you folks in the press and Democrats, 'oh, no problem here.' Try taking that message to the American people... When they see the vice president’s son getting paid $50,000 a month in a field and an industry he has no experience in -- I wonder what Hunter Biden did in those board meetings?"

"And then when the company that’s paying him that money is under investigation, guess what? Daddy comes running to the rescue," he added.