Jordan Accuses Pelosi of Blocking ‘Fundamental’ Questions about Capitol Riot
Republican rep slams Speaker Pelosi for kicking him off Jan. 6 Capitol commission
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Republican Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has blasted Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for rejecting his seat on the Jan. 6 House commission.
Speaking Tuesday following the first day of the Democrats' anti-Trump hearings on Capitol Hill, Jordan accused Pelosi of kicking him off the commission to block "fundamental" questions being asked about the riot.
Pelosi rejected Jordan along with Rep. Jim Banks from Indiana – two strong allies of former President Donald Trump.
Democrats formed the committee to "investigate" the cause of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
To prevent future violence, the committee will then offer recommendations, which are expected to target Trump.
After Day One of what is likely to be a politically charged and contentious several months focusing on the violent incident, Jordan said he believes Pelosi chose not to include him on the committee because of an uncomfortable accusation he made against the House speaker a week earlier.
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"It was a terrible day," Jordan told "Special Report" host Bret Baier.
"And the people who did wrong need to be held accountable.
"The real question is, and I've said this many times, why weren't those guys who testified today and all the other Capitol Hill police who protect us and protect Capitol Hill, why weren't they given more help?"
"Why wasn't more help there that day?
"And the only person who can answer that question is the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
"And I think she thought we were going to keep raising that question," he continued, "and that's why she didn't put me on."
The outspoken GOP lawmaker pointed to so-called "reports" suggesting that Pelosi hesitated to call in the National Guard on the day of the riot over "optics" concerns.
"Why?" Jordan asked.
"My hunch is because what happened all last summer [when] we saw Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats say that we should defund the police.
"We saw Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats say that rioters and looters who attacked police, destroyed small business, and hurt innocent civilians- they actually raised money to bail them out of jail.
"So when that's the background, it's kind of tough to say, 'we're for defunding the police. But, oh, by the way, we want more police here to protect us on January 6th'."
Pelosi, as the speaker, does not directly oversee the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP), according to the Associated Press, but does appoint the House sergeant-at-arms, who is on the Capitol Police Board that oversees the department.
The department is also overseen by committees from both houses of Congress.
Jordan emphasized that he is not "blaming anyone for what happened that day except the people who did wrong," he told Baier.
"Those are the people to blame.
"And guess what? They're being prosecuted just like our system is supposed to work."
But, he continued, "We're just asking a fundamental question… why wasn't there a proper security posture on January 6, and what have we done to correct that?
"And to make sure it doesn't happen in the future.
"I think those are fundamental questions. It's not about blame.
"The blame resides with the people who did wrong.
"They should be prosecuted and they are being."
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Jordan made the comments after four police officers who defended the Capitol from rioters criticized Trump and Republicans who are loyal to him for allegedly inspiring and then downplaying the attack.
Jordan said that while he "believes" Capitol Hill police and supports their work, he is certain the committee is "out to get the former president."
"That's why I think we were kicked off the committee, which I think underscores how political this thing actually is," he said.
"And, I would argue this: The main reason the Democrats want to keep talking about January sixth, because what the heck else are they going to talk about?" Jordan said.
"They going to talk about the twelve murders in Chicago last week?
"Are they going to talk about the price of goods and services up for everything?
"Are they going to talk about the fact that our border - I mean, we had a record number of illegal crossings in March until April, and then we had a record number in April, until May.
"We had a record number in May, until June.
"That is a bad trend.
"They can't talk about any of that stuff.
"So they're going to focus on doing what they always do, attack the former president."
