Since Jordan admitted last summer that he spoke to Trump on the phone that day, Ohio Republicans and Trump loyalists have denied questions about it or are inconsistent. in his answers.
Asked on Friday about White House records, Jordan told CNN he had multiple calls with Trump on January 6 but could only confirm that he spoke with Trump after he left the House floor and I don’t remember if they talked that morning or not.
“I spoke to the President a number of times that day, but I don’t remember which time,” Jordan said.
A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
One entry in the White House records shows Trump asking Jordan to make a call from the White House residence on the morning of January 6. The second entry shows the length of the call as 10 minutes.
Records show that Trump did not leave the White House until 11:40 a.m. ET on January 6, 2021, to address the thousands of his supporters gathered in the Ellipse. According to footage of the House proceedings that day, Jordan spoke on the floor for five minutes beginning at 1:32 p.m. ET during the debate over whether to reject Biden’s electors from Arizona. or not.
Jordan then spoke asking for a roll-call vote on the Arizona challenge at 10:27 p.m. as lawmakers returned to the boardroom after being evacuated when rioters disrupted the prosecution process. congressional proceedings.
On Friday, Jordan said, “I don’t remember,” when asked specifically whether he spoke to Trump the morning before the violence began. “I know I spoke to him after we left the floor,” adding that he did not remember how long his calls with the former President lasted that day.
Jordan’s previous recollections of his conversations with Trump on January 6 were inconsistent.
At a House Rules Committee hearing in December, Chairman Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, specifically asked Jordan when he spoke to Trump that day.
“I spoke to the President after the attack,” Jordan said at the time.
When McGovern pressed Jordan again and asked him to confirm that the call did not occur before or during the attack, Jordan replied, “Yes. And I was clear about that.”
Months earlier, in July, he told a local reporter that he couldn’t recall when he spoke to Trump or how many times they spoke.
In the committee’s letter to Jordan seeking a voluntary interview, Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, who chairs the panel, said investigators specifically wanted to ask Jordan about his contacts. me with the former President.
“We understand that you had at least one and possibly multiple communications with President Trump on January 6,” Thompson wrote in December. “We would like to discuss each such exchange in detail. with you.”
The committee also wanted to talk to Jordan about meetings he had with White House and Trump officials in the months between the 2020 presidential election in November and the January 6 attacks on “strategy.” overturn the results of the 2020 election.”
The message, which Jordan delivered to Meadows on January 5, outlines a legal theory that then-Vice President Mike Pence has the power to obstruct certification for the 2020 election. is an example of how Jordan provided a megaphone to report that the election was stolen from Trump.
The panel’s letter to Jordan also seeks to learn more about any communications he has with allies, the legal team, and Trump staff about potential organization, planning, or strategy. capacity around January 6.
When Jordan indicated earlier this month that he had no plans to cooperate and dismissed the commission’s investigation as illegitimate, a spokesman for the council said that Jordan was an “important witness” because he admitted to speaking directly with Trump on January 6.
The spokesperson also suggested that, without evidence, Trump and his team were the reason for Jordan’s failure to cooperate.
Jordan has previously said he would cooperate with the committee’s investigation, but now it appears the Trump team convinced him to attempt to conceal the facts and circumstances. happened on 6/1”.
Jordan was originally selected by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as one of five GOP members to serve on the committee in July. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denied McCarthy chose Jordan, along with GOP Representative Jim Banks of Indiana, because she said their appointments could affect the “integrity of the investigation.” “
The commission has long made Jordan a top target for its investigation. In August, Jordan was among a group of Republican lawmakers whose phone records the committee asked various companies to preserve. At the time, Jordan warned of the precedent the panel would set if it took place after members were sitting in Congress.
The committee is still considering whether it will take the next step and issue a subpoena for Jordan, a move it is also considering with McCarthy and GOP Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.
The panel met on Thursday to discuss their options but failed to settle on next steps when it comes to efforts to get their fellow lawmakers to cooperate. President Thompson acknowledged on Thursday that it was a complicated matter.
“You know, you have to respect this institution,” he told CNN. “You know, we’ve got to see if it’s been done before. If it has, then by what authority. So we just want to be right. And if we don’t have a stand. well with it, I mean, we probably wouldn’t do it.”
CNN’s Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.
