Republican congressman Jordan rejects request from House committee to cooperate on Capitol riot inquiry

WASHINGTON -- US Republican Congressman Jim Jordan has rejected a request from the House select committee investigating the Jan 6 Capitol riot to voluntarily cooperate with the probe.

"This request is far outside the bounds of any legitimate inquiry, violates core Constitutional principles, and would serve to further erode legislative norms," Jordan wrote to Bennie Thompson, Democrat from Mississippi who chairs the Jan 6 panel, according a copy of the letter posted online by Axios.

"As you well know, I have no relevant information that would assist the Select Committee in advancing any legitimate legislative purpose," Jordan said in the letter dated Jan 9.

The committee in late December wrote to the GOP House member, requesting an interview with him about the riot, claiming that Jordan, as a staunch ally of Donald Trump, regularly interacted with the former president both in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election and in the aftermath of it.

"We understand that you had at least one and possibly multiple communications with President Trump on Jan 6. We would like to discuss each such communication with you in detail," Thompson wrote in his letter.

The committee requested that the interview be arranged on either Jan 3 or 4, or that Jordan meet with investigators during the week starting Jan 10.

Jordan has repeatedly blasted the committee's effort as politically motivated, once acknowledging that he did speak with Trump on Jan 6.

"I spoke with him on Jan 6. I mean, I talked with President Trump all the time and that's ... I don't think that's unusual," he said in an interview with Spectrum News in the summer of 2021.