Republican Congressman Jordan sends letter to Jan. 6 committee indicating he won't cooperate

Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, a close ally to former President Trump, on Sunday night formally refused to cooperate with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson on Sunday night  received a multi-page letter from Jordan that in part read: "Your attempt to pry into the deliberative process informing a Member about legislative matters before the House is an outrageous abuse of the Select Committee’s authority."

Whether Jordon was referring to himself was unclear, but he also said that he has "no relevant information that would assist the Select Committee in advancing any legitimate legislative purpose."

His refusal to cooperate follows fellow GOP Rep. Scott Perry, of Pennsylvania, telling the committee he won't speak to members of the panel. 

Jordan has been labeled a material witness by the committee because he spoke with Trump on the day of the riot at the U.S. Capitol Building and reportedly exchanged text messages with then-chief of staff Mark Meadows in the days leading up to the event.

A committee spokesperson said Jordan's letter "fails to address the principal bases for the Select Committee's request for a meeting, including that he worked directly with President Trump and the Trump legal team to attempt to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election.

"Mr. Jordan has admitted that he spoke directly to President Trump on January 6th and is thus a material witness. Mr. Jordan's letter to the committee fails to address these facts."

The committee says it will respond "in more detail" to Jordan's letter in the coming days.

During an interview on the "John Solomon Reports" podcast that will air on Monday, Jordan discussed his belief that the committee has been mishandling evidence.

"They've (committee members) already proven that they're going to alter evidence and lie about it to the American people ... they took a text message that I had forwarded to the to the White House Chief of Staff and they they completely changed it," said the congressman.

Jordan had previously said he would cooperate with the committee's investigation, though in his Sunday letter, he wrote that the committee's request was "far outside the bounds of any legitimate inquiry, violates core Constitutional principles, and would serve to further erode legislative norms."

"Even if I had information to share with the Select Committee, the actions and statements of Democrats in the House of Representatives show that you are not conducting a fair-minded and objective inquiry," he said.