Goldman Grills Jordan Over Claim He Met with ‘Dozens’ of Whistleblowers Claiming Feds Are Biased: ‘No Notes, No Nothing?’
For months, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has used his voluminous appearances on conservative TV networks such as Fox News and Newsmax to claim “dozens” of whistleblowers have approached his office to say the federal government has been targeting conservatives.
However, he has provided very few details on what the alleged whistleblowers have said. Instead, he has mostly hurled vague accusations at the FBI and the federal government more broadly. Conservatives have viewed the bureau with suspicion since it was revealed it began investigating former President Donald Trump’s possible ties to the Russian government stemming during the 2016 presidential campaign.
More recently, Jordan alleges the federal government has become further “weaponized” under President Joe Biden. He has pledged to investigate the matter, and on Tuesday the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government he chairs held a hearing on the matter.
At one point, freshman Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) asked Jordan why the “dozens” of whistleblowers, or at the very least their statements, were not made available to Democratic members of the committee before the hearing.
Here’s their exchange:
GOLDMAN: Mr. Chairman, can I have a point of order? There’s been a lot of mention of information and testimony that you all have received from whistleblowers. When are you planning on providing that to the minority?
JORDAN: You could have been – for the very first deposition or, excuse me, transcribed interview of the whistleblower. I was there when he testified on Tuesday.
GOLDMAN: Ok, that’s fine. I assume you’ll turn those over. But what about–you talk about dozens of whistleblowers. When are we gonna get that information?
JORDAN: When they testify. When we work with–I’ll work with the ranking member on that.
GOLDMAN: You don’t have any transcriptions of their interviews?
JORDAN: We have the first ones and we have the dozens who’ve come and talked to our office.
GOLDMAN: They talked to your office privately?
JORDAN: They talk to Republican staff, right?
GOLDMAN: And they’re not transcribed? No notes, no nothing?
JORDAN: First one happened Tuesday–
GOLDMAN: No, I’m not talking about the first one.
JORDAN: First one happened Tuesday. The next one happens tomorrow, the third one happens next Wednesday, and we’ll continue to do that.
GOLDMAN: You just said dozens. Do you have notes from those? Or are they just talking to your staff?
UNIDENTIFIED MEMBER: Mr. Chairman, isn’t that how whistleblowers typically work?
JORDAN: Well, it’s how they’re supposed to work. It’s not how they work in the impeachment that Mr. Goldman was a part of when Mr. Schiff said he didn’t have contact with the whistleblower–
GOLDMAN: Actually, it worked exactly appropriately until Mr. Trump would not allow–
JORDAN: We’re doing it the way we’re supposed to do it, Mr. Goldman.
GOLDMAN: No, you’re supposed to turn it over to the minority.
JORDAN: When they come and testify, you’ll have access to the transcript like everyone on the committee will.
GOLDMAN: You mean your staff is not gonna turn it over to our staff? We’re just in the dark?
JORDAN: No, when the transcript is done, you’ll get the transcript.
GOLDMAN: I mean the dozens of whistleblowers you have already talked to that came to talk to your staff.
JORDAN: What do you want me to turn over there?
UNIDENTIFIED MEMBER: Their names?
GOLDMAN: Their names?
GOLDMAN: Notes, did anyone take notes?
JORDAN: I’ll be happy to talk with the ranking member on how we handle that information.
GOLDMAN: Thank you.
JORDAN: All I’m telling you, we will schedule each for a deposition and we are doing that. You didn’t show up for the first one, but could have been there.
Someone in the committee room noted that Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) was present for the interview with the first alleged whistleblower.
Watch above via C-SPAN.
CORRECTION: This article originally stated the exchange between Dan Goldman and Jim Jordan took place during a Judiciary Committee hearing. It has been updated to reflect that it occurred during a meeting of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which falls under the Judiciary Committee.
