Jim Jordan Dodges When Asked What Impeachable Offense Federal Judge Has Committed: ‘All I’m Saying Is…’

CNN anchor Kasie Hunt spoke to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Wednesday and asked the leading Republican what crime he believed the judge who ruled against Trump’s deportations had committed to warrant impeachment.

“So, I just want to start with a simple question. Do you believe, as President Trump does, that Judge Boasberg should be impeached?” Hunt asked.

“Well, normally, as Chief Justice Roberts has pointed out, the remedy for bad decisions is the appellate court. But it seems to me you may have something a little different here. This judge’s decision was so ridiculous, it seems to be political,” Jordan replied, standing behind Trump’s call to impeach the judge.

“And then, when you add to it the history of Judge Boasberg, his work with the FISA court back in the whole Trump-Russia baloney, that whole, you know, fake collusion thing that they talked about, the Democrats talked about forever, and then, of course, his sentencing of Kevin Clinesmith, the guy who lied to the FISA court, altered a document back during that same time frame, I think you might have here a judge who’s acting in a political fashion. That is a different question,” Jordan said, adding:

And so, for us Republicans, and I think folks on the Judiciary Committee, all options are still on the table. We’re going to do some research, we’re going to dig into this, and we’re going to find out. And then, I think when you really step back, Kasie, and look at how stupid the decision was by this judge, I mean, he basically said — well, not basically, he did say, turn the plane around, bring back gang members, hardened criminals, who’ve done all kinds of bad things, who are here illegally. Turn the plane around and bring those bad guys back to the country, I think just on its face, this is ridiculous. And so, it sure looks like the judge is acting in a political fashion.

“OK. Yes. I completely understand the argument that people are making about whether the planes should — whether these people should have been deported or not. I want to get a little bit more clarity on what you’re saying. What specifically has Judge Boasberg done that you believe is an impeachable offense under the constitutional description of high crimes and misdemeanors?” Hunt pressed.

“All I’m saying is if you’re acting in a political fashion and not just, you know, following the law — ruling on the law. And I would argue that, frankly, just his ruling in and of itself,” Jordan replied, dodging the question, adding:

Remember, the Constitution is pretty clear. Article 2, Section 1, very first sentence says, power in the executive branch shall be vested in the President of the United States. The president has the authority here. Second, he followed the statute —

“But isn’t there a major body of law that shows that he would probably be likely to win?” Hunt pressed as Jordan cut in:

— predatory incursion, and that’s — that he followed the statute. And then, third, the president told the country he was going to do this. It’s not like it’s a surprise to anyone, let alone this judge. He campaigned on it and said he was going to do it.

So, I think when you put all that together, that’s what makes this decision look so political on the part of Judge Boasberg.

“But, Mr. Chairman, and we actually showed how many times the president said exactly that he would use this law when he was on the campaign trail. We showed our viewers some of that yesterday. So, I do take that point,” Hunt pressed, adding:

But given all these arguments, if you think that this is — and there is an enormous body of law out there, some of it built during the Bush administration, which I know, you know, you were here in Washington during a lot of this, that suggests that the president actually might win this case on the merits in the longer-term under the normal process.

So, if you’re the White House, why not put that appeal through? Why not use the process that’s available to you right then?

“Well, then there — in fact, may be the appeal process. I know we got all kinds of cases. I think 15 different cases now where there have been some federal district judge who’s done some kind of injunction ruled against President Trump in just eight weeks of him being in office. So, those are all going to get challenged. You go through the appellate process, that may in fact happen in this particular case too,” Jordan concluded.

Watch the clip above via CNN.