Rep. Jim Jordan attacked by Ohio newspaper in shocking personal, partisan column

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Jim Jordan says facts are on Trump's side after week of public impeachment hearings

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan offers his takeaways from the fifth day of public impeachment testimony on 'Special Report.'

Rep. Jim Jordan has apparently struck a nerve in his home state.

In an op-ed published this week, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland unloaded with full force against the Ohio Republican, who has made an immediate impact on the Trump impeachment hearings since recently joining the House Intelligence Committee.

The scathing essay, written by Brent Larkin, a retired editorial director for the paper, refers to Jordan as a “seven-term sycophant” who is defending President Trump as part of a greater scheme to seek the presidency himself in 2024.

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Larkin asserts Jordan owes his House seat to bipartisan gerrymandering and has since become “the second most contemptible human being in the entire U.S. government,” next only to Trump.

“When Jordan slithers out from under his rock each morning, dons a shirt and tie -- sans the jacket, lest he be mistaken for Joe McCarthy -- his life’s work is to besmirch everything America stands for in service of Donald Trump,” Larkin writes. “And now it’s fitting that Republicans have given this seven-term sycophant a starring role in the televised House Intelligence Committee impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump.”

But despite the media bashing, fellow Republicans and conservatives appear to appreciate Jordan's efforts.

“Now he’s in a leadership position," Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, R-N.C., told The Washington Post, "and the heavy yoke of leadership has moored him into the team in a very constructive way.”

“There has been no greater supporter of President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda or greater defender from these left-wing attacks than Jim Jordan,” added David Bossie, president of Citizens United. “And the president recognizes fighters when he sees one.”

“There has been no greater supporter of President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda or greater defender from these left-wing attacks than Jim Jordan.” 

— David Bossie, president of Citizens United

Jordan, 55, a native of Troy, Ohio, has been in Congress since 2007 after previously serving as a state lawmaker. As a member first of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and now as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Jordan has become known for his outspoken and confrontational style and piercing questioning of hearing witnesses.

He has also been a brash critic of the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry. Earlier this week, during an appearance on Fox News' "Hannity," Jordan slammed the intelligence panel's Democrats and predicted Americans would reelect President Trump in another "Electoral College landslide" in 2020.

"The American people see [the impeachment inquiry] for what it is," Jordan told host Sean Hannity on Tuesday. "The Democrats have never accepted the fact that 63 million Americans voted for this guy and they want him to come here and shake it up. And he won an Electoral College landslide and they [Democrats] don't care because they don't trust the American people."'

"The American people see [the impeachment inquiry] for what it is. The Democrats have never accepted the fact that 63 million Americans voted for this guy and they want him to come here and shake it up. And he won an Electoral College landslide and they [Democrats] don't care because they don't trust the American people."'

— U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio

Earlier in the day on Capitol Hill, Jordan gave his view of why Democrats seemed eager to remove Trump from office.

“The Democrats have never accepted the will of the American people,” Jordan said. “The Democrats don’t trust the American people.”

The Plain Dealer op-ed, titled “Jim Jordan was imposed on us for egregiously partisan reasons. Now he’s afflicting the nation,” also accuses Jordan of turning a blind eye to sexual abuse committed by a team doctor when he worked as an assistant wrestling coach at the Ohio State University from 1987 to 1994.

Jordan said earlier this month it was “ridiculous” to assume he had any knowledge of the abuse, the Washington Examiner reported. Jordan and head coach Russ Hellickson were both cleared of any wrongdoing after an internal investigation determined they did not know of the abuse carried out by Dr. Richard Strauss, the wrestling program’s doctor, who committed suicide over a decade ago.

“That makes Jordan an ideal candidate to lead the defense of a malignant president who has bragged about physically abusing women and who has been accused by two dozen women of sexual assault or misconduct,” Larkin writes.

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“Why would Jordan so readily ruin what little was left of his reputation?” the author asks. “One theory holds he hopes to inherit Trump’s base for a presidential run of his own in 2024. The swamp will be a crowded place in four years, overrun with loathsome folks angling to continue the dastardly business of shredding the Constitution.”