Press: Don’t be fooled: Jim Jordan is no Frank Church  

Knowing he was stepping into perilous territory by chairing a new subcommittee on the “Weaponization of the Federal Government,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has tried to wrap himself in the cloak of statesmanship. His committee is nothing new, he insists — it’s “modeled” on the famous “Church Committee,” the highly praised Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Activities of 1975-76 that was chaired by Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho).  

Nothing could be further from the truth.  

Unfortunately for Jordan, but fortunately for everybody else, any attempt to dignify his subcommittee by equating it with the Church Committee was shot down last week by those who know best. In an open letter to Jordan, 28 former Church Committee staff members of both parties — including several who went on to hold top government posts under Republican and Democratic presidents — politely but firmly warned him he was way out of line.   

As committee staffers have pointed out, the differences between yesterday’s Church Committee and today’s Jordan Committee are stark and undeniable. From the beginning, three things distinguished the Church Committee: Its work was bipartisan, collaborative and evidence-based. The Jordan Committee is already none of the above. It’s just the opposite.  

Church led a serious investigation, created by the Senate in January 1975 by an overwhelming, 82-4 bipartisan vote; Jordan is running a political witch hunt, approved last month in a totally partisan vote of 221-211. Church’s work was driven by hard evidence of the CIA’s spying on anti-war and civil rights activists and plotting the assassination of foreign leaders; Jordan’s mission is based on unproven conspiracy theories about government agencies targeting conservatives. The Church Committee issued its final, unanimous report based on more than 12 months of hearings; Jordan was already broadcasting conclusions of his investigation before the committee held its first hearing.  

The very name Jordan gave his committee, “Weaponization of the Federal Government,” shows that it’s purely political, out to pummel any government agency that did not pledge full allegiance to former President Donald Trump. And remember, the special subcommittee was only created by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in his 15-round battle for Speaker as a concession to win votes he needed from a few House hardliners.  

Now, here’s what’s really unbelievable. According to Jordan, two leading examples of the “weaponization” his committee will explore are the FBI’s investigation of the Trump 2016 campaign and the Department of Justice’s probe of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.  

Really? Let’s review the facts.  

The FBI’s focus on Trump’s 2016 campaign was triggered by reports that some campaign staffers were in direct contact with, and accepting campaign assistance from, members of the Russian government. For the FBI not to investigate those charges would have been a dereliction of their duty. 

Even though no charges were filed, the subsequent Mueller report, in fact, documented examples of the Trump campaign being offered information from Russia about his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. And both the FBI and Mueller investigations were launched by Trump’s Justice Department, not by Democrats.  

Jordan’s case is even weaker when it comes to Jan. 6. This was a direct assault against our democracy, an attempt to overthrow the United States government. Any suggestion that the Justice Department is “weaponizing” the federal government by tracking down and holding accountable those responsible for Jan. 6 is irresponsible.  

This entire committee’s a farce. In the end, it’s Jordan himself who’s guilty. He’s using all the resources of a congressional committee to pursue those he believes are Trump’s political enemies, and thereby weaponizing far-right extremist groups. If that’s not “weaponization of the federal government,” I don’t know what is.  

Press is host of “The Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”