June 29, 2017

House Republicans are determined to destroy all investigations into the Trump administration and Russia's meddling in our elections. Now they are calling for an "investigation" into those investigating the Russians. Sure, that will clarify things! And it's absolutely more important than stopping a foreign power from influencing our election process.

Think I'm kidding?

"All I'm saying is let's investigate the investigators," Jordan said, which includes special counsel Robert Mueller.

CNN's Chris Cuomo battled with Rep. Jordan (who is, of course, from the moronic Freedom Caucus) for almost ten minutes about the need to "investigate the investigators" as Jordan made several dubious claims about Comey's actions and testimony.

Rep. Jordan tells him that investigating James Comey and Loretta Lynch are a top priority because she dared to call the Clinton email investigation a "matter" and Comey somehow lied to the American people.

The FBI is never supposed to reveal to the American people who and what they are investigating since it can turn into partisan political attacks, but Jordan was flummoxed that James Comey refused to tell the American people that the FBI wasn't investigation Trump.

Even Trump's favorite Judge Napolitano told Fox News that the role of the FBI was not to make announcements to the American people about their investigations.

Cuomo questioned his ethics saying, "[Comey] said he didn't like she asked him to do that?"

Rep. Jordan complained that a special counsel was never called for the IRS or Clinton's email server, but Republicans held an exorbitant amount of Congressional hearings that cost tens of millions of tax payer dollars on Benghazi, IRS and Clinton email server and so far because of Chairman Nunes' meddling haven't even completed one investigation in the House about Russia's hacking.

This interview is quite something really.

It shows how far down the hackery rabbit hole Republicans like Rep. Jordan are willing to go to shield the Trump administration from anything that is connected to Russia.

Here's a transcript via CNN:

JORDAN: The attorney general told him to call it a matter, not an investigation, when it, in fact, was an investigation. What did he call it? He called it a matter and if that's not misleading -- when he questioned the very -- when she told him that -- he questioned it, yet he went out and did it.

Then he misled the American people when he furthered this perception that the president was under investigation. Then he leaks the memo and he said under --

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: But how do you -- how did he do that?

JORDAN: And he said under oath he leaked the memo to create momentum for a special counsel.

CUOMO: But he never told the American people that the president was under investigation. How did he do that? How did -- how did he intentionally allow people to believe the president was under investigation?

JORDAN: Because three times he had told the president he wasn't under investigation --

CUOMO: Right.

JORDAN: -- and that, yet, he won't clear that up and tell the American people that, in fact, was the -- was the case. He furthers that perception --

CUOMO: Why would he -- why would he --

JORDAN: -- then he leaks a memo when he gets fired to protect himself.

CUOMO: Wait. But, Congressman -- Congressman, hold on a second. Why would he go out and tell the American people that the president's not under investigation? Just because the president asked him to?

JORDAN: No, maybe because it was the truth, Chris. All I'm saying is why not just say he was under investigation?

CUOMO: But who was saying that the president was under investigation?

JORDAN: He wasn't truthful -- he wasn't truthful in either situation, he gets fired, and now it's like oh, because James Comey got fired because someone in the Justice Department is so critical, we've got to have this special counsel to get to the bottom of all this. Where was the special counsel in the IRS targeting investigation? There was a -- there was a resolution --

CUOMO: Republicans were in favor of this special counsel. Republicans praised Bob Mueller, who's a registered Republican, by the way. You seem to forget that fact. You know, there's a list in front of me of --

JORDAN: Where was the -- where was the special counsel in the IRS investigation?

CUOMO: -- all these big-shot Republicans saying Mueller is a great guy to have doing this? This is the right move.

JORDAN: Yes, you know -- you know what I said. I said look, I understand he's got a great reputation. I know the one encounter I had with Bob Mueller in committee, he couldn't answer one single question about the IRS investigation. We passed a resolution in Congress calling for a special counsel in the IRS targeting of conservative groups and the Justice Department then said no.

Where was the special counsel when numerous members of Congress called for it in the Clinton investigation? Maybe if there had been a special counsel in the Clinton investigation they would have called it an investigation, not a matter. So I'm just saying where's the consistency here? That's what we point out in our op-ed.

And then, of course, who are the people that Bob Mueller has hired? All Democrats, all big contributors to presidential candidates who run on the Democrat side.

CUOMO: They're not -- they're not all Democrats. They're not all Democrats. You had three of the --

JORDAN: James Quarles, Jeannie -- Jeannie Rhee represented Clinton --

CUOMO: Three of the --

JORDAN: -- and the Clinton Foundation.

CUOMO: Listen, listen. I get your -- I get your opinion but here are the facts. Three of eight of the Mueller hires made contributions to Clinton, OK? Three of the eight. You had Rosenstein.

JORDAN: Yes.

CUOMO: You had the DOJ. Both say that political contributions are not dispositive of bias. None of them ever worked for Clinton directly. Two who did represent Clinton's foundation or an aide never worked for her and they worked at a place which also represented key members of Trump's White House -- JORDAN: But, Chris --

CUOMO: -- including Manafort --

JORDAN: Chris --

CUOMO: -- Kushner and Ivanka Trump.So I get what you're trying to suggest --

JORDAN: Chris, where is the balance?

CUOMO: -- but the facts aren't there.

JORDAN: No, no, I'm not -- the facts are there.

CUOMO: They were all vetted --

JORDAN: James Quarles, Jeannie Rhee --

CUOMO: -- by the DOJ and they were seen to not have meaningful conflicts.

JORDAN: So we can't -- we can't find Independents.

CUOMO: Rosenstein said the same thing.

JORDAN: We can't find Republic -- no Republicans, no Independent people can go on this special counsel -- investigative team.

CUOMO: Who's saying that you don't have Independents or Republicans? You have a Republican running it.

JORDAN: The facts are saying that. Numerous -- every news story --

CUOMO: The special counsel is a Republican.

JORDAN: Every news story talks about James Quarles, Jeannie Rhee. All these folks who had strong and long connections with Democrat candidates for president. Long support for -- James Quarles goes back to Dukakis.

CUOMO: Three --

JORDAN: He supported every Democrat candidate from Dukakis to Clinton. So, again where's the balance here?

CUOMO: So Mueller, the Republican, had no problems with it. The DOJ had no problems with it. Rosenstein --

JORDAN: Well, we'll see.

CUOMO: -- who all you guys were celebrating, had no problems with it. But you're saying --

JORDAN: I wasn't --

CUOMO: -- it's phony.

JORDAN: I wasn't celebrating. Yes, I wasn't celebrating.

CUOMO: But maybe --

JORDAN: All I'm saying is look --

CUOMO: Maybe you're the exception, not the rule, within your own party. That's what I'm suggesting.

JORDAN: Maybe that's why we need to have hearings. That's why we've called for them to look at what James Comey did -- unprecedented, what he did. And the idea that the attorney general can tell the FBI director not to be square with the American people, I don't think -- I don't think the American people would appreciate that and that's not supposed to be how the --

CUOMO: But you're assuming an intentionality there. You're assuming an intentionality and maybe that would be something --

JORDAN: I'm not assuming anything, Chris.

CUOMO: You have to be.

JORDAN: She told him to call it a --

CUOMO: Right, but she --

JORDAN: She portrayed it a certain matter and in a certain way he did that.

CUOMO: And you're saying that she wanted him to call it that because she wanted to deceive the American people. That's not known. Maybe it should be asked about. Maybe it should be probed that --

JORDAN: Oh, Chris.

CUOMO: That's your fault.

JORDAN: Chris, come on.

CUOMO: That's your fault.

JORDAN: Come on. So what --

CUOMO: I have to know.

JORDAN: What other reason would there be?

CUOMO: I have to hear it from her. That's how it works.

JORDAN: OK.

CUOMO: That's why you would ask her the questions.

JORDAN: OK. CUOMO: I'm not saying that you shouldn't --

JORDAN: OK.

CUOMO: -- but I'm saying we'd have to hear her saying it and --

JORDAN: Yes, the same lady who met with Bill Clinton on the tarmac --

CUOMO: I got you.

JORDAN: -- tells the FBI director --

CUOMO: Listen --

JORDAN: -- not to call it an investigation --

CUOMO: And that's suspicious as well.

JORDAN: -- and there's no intent there.

CUOMO: I'm -- that's suspicious --

JORDAN: That's unbelievable.

CUOMO: -- as well. I'm just saying we're dealing with the here and now. With Russia, you're dealing with the back then. I'm not sure that there's equal relevance but that's your case to make. You make it well in the op-ed. People should read it, it's out there.

JORDAN: Thank you.

CUOMO: Jim Jordan, thank you very much for coming on the --

That's your Republican elected official, folks. But hey, at least Putin is happy.

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