Jim McGovern Lights Into Jim Jordan For Not Appearing At Rules Committee Hearing

4 months ago

At a House Rules Committee hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) questioned Rep.

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00:00leadership to ought to to manipulate the video in the Jankwits matter it is

00:05dishonest enough to manipulate the video in this matter and that is a good reason

00:10to withhold it. Ranking member Raskin, ranking member Nadler, Chairman Comer and

00:19we're missing a chairman here. Mr. Jordan I think sent a substitute because it

00:25which is unfortunate because I I would have liked to have asked Chairman Jordan

00:29about his non-compliance with the congressional subpoena but I guess I

00:34guess maybe he was too afraid to come or didn't want to have to deal with that

00:38question. I got to be honest with you I mean with the American people is sick of

00:43is how pathetic this House of Representatives have become so let's

00:48just I mean this is a distraction from the fact that the Republican nominee for

00:53president is a convicted felon. That's what this is all about and Republicans

01:00have weaponized committee after committee to the point that it is doing

01:06great damage to this institution. Democrats, Republicans and independents

01:10are looking at the way this house is being run and they think it's pathetic.

01:14You know we are here because Republicans are falsely claiming that the Attorney

01:19General is playing politics with the Justice Department. They are

01:23irresponsibly attacking the DOJ making absurd claims that it is being

01:28weaponized. These contempt resolutions represent more of those attacks. My

01:33Republican friends have gone on and on about how Democrats have weaponized the

01:37DOJ but their conspiracy theories crumbled this morning when Hunter Biden

01:42the son of the president was found guilty in a federal court on three gun

01:46related charges. When Donald Trump was convicted we saw an immediate reaction

01:50for Republican leaders. It was like within seconds that this trial is a sham

01:55the judge is corrupt the jury is rigged and the contrast today is just staggering.

02:01Apparently when a Republican is convicted it's weaponization but when a

02:05Democrat is convicted the president's son no less that's justice. I mean give

02:11me a break. Hunter Biden was found guilty by a jury of his peers just like Donald

02:15Trump because this is our justice system at work. The divide here is

02:20stunning and it's a great reminder that one political party remains committed to

02:25the rule of law and the other doesn't. It's that simple.

02:28Did Hunter Biden walk out of the courthouse this morning and slam the

02:32judge or the prosecutors? Did he claim some vast conspiracy to weaponize the

02:37legal system against him? No he did not. In a statement on the verdict President

02:43Biden said and I quote I will accept the outcome of this case and will

02:47continue to respect the judicial process end quote. Now I ask after the verdict

02:52this morning how can any Republican in their right mind argue that the Biden

02:56administration is weaponizing the DOJ to hurt Republicans and to help Democrats?

03:01They just convicted the president's own son to say nothing of the fact that the

03:05Department of Justice is currently trying a Democratic senator and has

03:10indicted a Democratic member of this house. I mean do Republicans still

03:15believe that President Biden is weaponizing the justice system because

03:18if he is he's sure doing a lousy job and as usual the only Trump derangements

03:23syndrome going on around here is on the other side of the aisle. I mean people

03:28are saying that Biden orchestrated the conviction of his own son in order to

03:34justify the criminal charges against Trump. That is how you think when you are

03:38in a cult. So here's the bottom line Republicans just can't wrap their heads

03:44around the idea that their presidential candidate your presumptive nominee is a

03:49convicted felon. That is not the result of a sham process or some vast conspiracy

03:54by the Biden administration. That is the result of the truth and these attacks on

03:59our justice system have to come to a stop. They are dangerous, they are

04:03irresponsible, they are nothing but false conspiracy theories being pushed to try

04:08and excuse the actions of the former president and they are made even more

04:12absurd by the outcome of the trial this morning in Delaware. Mr. Raskin, for the

04:18record can you contrast the president and the administration's compliance with

04:23this investigation with that of Mr. Jordan's non-compliance with the January

04:286th investigation? Yes will you allow me to comment on what you just said as well

04:31Congressman McGovern and I'm very grateful to you for pointing this out.

04:36Hunter Biden was just convicted of every single count that was brought

04:40against him by the US Department of Justice. I've not heard a single

04:43Democrat anywhere in the country cry fraud, cry fixed, cry rigged, cry kangaroo

04:52court or any of the many epithets that our colleagues have mobilized against

04:58the US Department of Justice and our federal court system despite the fact

05:01that Donald Trump was not even tried in federal court that was at the state

05:05level and they pretend to support state prosecutors and state judges but then

05:10they attribute it to the federal government and they say rigged, fixed,

05:14kangaroo court and so on. You don't hear a single peep out of any Democrat saying

05:18that why we believe in the rule of law. We believe in the justice system and we

05:23stand by it and you know what Hunter Biden had every right and benefit that

05:27Donald Trump had. He had the right to a presumption of innocence, he had a right

05:31to counsel which he exercised like Donald Trump did, he had a right to a

05:36jury of his peers and he had a right to unanimous verdict and in both cases a

05:40jury unanimously found against the defendant on all counts in both cases

05:45and compare and contrast the difference in reaction between the Republicans and

05:51the Democrats. The Republicans are attacking our entire system of justice

05:55and the rule of law because they don't like the way that one case came out

05:59whereas the son of the President of the United States is prosecuted and I don't hear a

06:04single Democrat crying foul. Now both Hunter Biden and Donald Trump can

06:09afford themselves of every right of appeal that there is and we stand by the

06:14appellate system but I think that you know it's just outrageous to see the way

06:19that our colleagues turn on the rule of law in the system of justice and it's a

06:24profoundly dangerous thing that we witness. Now you you've asked me to

06:30contrast Chairman McGovern the the cooperation the compliance of Attorney

06:38General Garland and the Department of Justice with the non-cooperation of Jim

06:44Jordan with the January 6th Select Committee. Well let's start with this as I

06:50said before we have gotten substantially and fully and materially

06:55everything that this committee has asked for from the Department of Justice and

07:00from the Biden administration. Again that is a striking contrast with the Trump

07:05administration. I remember the day when President Trump when he was in office

07:09said there would be no cooperation with any committees or subcommittees in

07:14Congress and they blocked investigations in more than a hundred

07:19cases and specifically with respect to impeachment which is super dangerous. He

07:24did not allow people who were material witnesses who had relevant factual

07:29testimony to render to the impeachment investigation in the first impeachment

07:34of Donald Trump to testify. He said they could not testify and he just shut it

07:38down. I did not hear any of my colleagues have a problem with that and now they're

07:42claiming well Merrick Garland has only cooperated ninety nine point nine nine

07:47percent with our committee we also want the audio tape it's not enough for us

07:52that we can read every word verbatim that is in the transcript that's not

07:58enough for them they want the audio tape too. I mean it's like a sick joke that

08:02they would go from standing by Donald Trump's horrific obstructionism of

08:08congressional power then to trying to hold the Attorney General of the United

08:13States in contempt. Now as for our friend Chairman Jordan who I also wish were

08:19here today he wasn't the only one by the way there were other members who were

08:24subpoenaed by the January 6th committee to give us whatever relevant material

08:29information they had about the violent insurrection against our government in

08:34order to force Mike Pence to step outside of his constitutional role and

08:38simply declare Donald Trump the president and hand him the keys to the

08:42presidency. So we didn't have a word of testimony from Scott Perry we didn't

08:47have a word of testimony from Jim Jordan we didn't have a word of testimony from

08:50Andy Biggs we didn't have a word of testimony from Kevin McCarthy and we

08:55didn't have a word of testimony from Mo Brooks nor did we receive a single

08:59document from Scott Perry nor did we receive a single document from Jim

09:03Jordan nor did we receive a single document from Andy Biggs nor did we

09:07receive a single document from Kevin McCarthy nor did we receive a single

09:11document from Mo Brooks. So there you're talking about 100% non-compliance and

09:16obstruction they want to hold the Attorney General of the United States of

09:19America in contempt for 99.99% compliance with what they're saying now

09:26and a hundred percent compliance in reality for what it was that the

09:30committee asked for. Yeah well I mean I again I regret that Chairman Jordan

09:36didn't see fit to come and testify today because I would have I would have liked

09:40to have heard his his answer to the same question but I just want to point out

09:44for the record that that Hunter Biden was found guilty by a jury of his peers

09:51and a case prosecuted by a US attorney appointed by President Trump presided

09:56over by a federal judge appointed by President Trump and investigated by the

10:01FBI with the director appointed by President Trump and you don't hear

10:06anybody you don't hear anybody here talking about the weapon complaining

10:11about weaponization and I just Mr. Chairman just for the record would like

10:16to read this statement from President Biden in regard in relationship to the

10:21verdict today I quote him as I said last week I am the president but I am also

10:26a dad Jill and I love our son and we are so proud of the man he is today so

10:32many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling

10:36of pride seeing anyone seeing someone you love come out the other side and be

10:43so strong and resilient recovery as I also said last week I will accept the

10:48outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as

10:53Hunter considers an appeal Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the

10:57rest of our family with our love and support nothing will ever change that

11:01end quote I think the fact that we are here wasting our time on this garbage is

11:07pathetic I really do mr. Raskin you well you know if you can engage me in a

11:13little thought experiment what if one of President Trump's children were

11:17prosecuted by the US Department of Justice the entire Republican Party

11:20would be in an uproar demanding that everybody be fired and that the

11:24investigation be quashed especially if it related to exercise of Second

11:29Amendment rights I've not heard any of them rise to the valiant defense of

11:34Hunter Biden's Second Amendment rights but be that as it may this is the rule

11:39of law and Hunter Biden had every right that was afforded to him under the rule

11:43of law just like Donald Trump did and they were both convicted and they both

11:49have the right to appeal but we should all be standing by the rule of law and

11:53the court system and I would love to hear one of my colleagues defend the

11:57discrepancy in their reaction to the Trump verdict and the Hunter Biden

12:02verdict if they can you know I I appreciate that I want to correct the

12:06record I think one Republican did come to the defense of Hunter Biden in kind

12:11of in a way he's a member of this committee but he's not here right now

12:14that's Thomas Massey he he said Hunter Biden might be it might deserve to be in

12:20jail for something but purchasing a gun is not it there are millions of marijuana

12:24users who own guns in this country and none of them should be in jail for

12:27purchase purchasing a possessing a fire firearm against current laws I don't

12:32necessarily always I don't know I don't agree with all that he isn't saying in

12:36that but the point of the matter is well look I think you know complex questions

12:41may be raised on appeal in that case in in any case and we've got to stand by

12:48the the system of justice this is why all of the ethical improprieties and

12:54transgressions taking place in the Supreme Court today are so alarming and

12:57demoralizing because you've got you know people billionaire sugar daddies giving

13:02millions of dollars to Supreme Court justices and it undermines everybody's

13:06confidence in the rule of law and and no complaints about that no concerns about

13:10that I mean and again we see we see what we've been seeing all the all in

13:15this Congress you know if if Republicans are held accountable for anything you

13:19know it's a weaponization of the judicial system if Democrats are held

13:23accountable well that's you know that's that's that's justice under the law I

13:27I've never ever seen such hypocrisy in my life and the idea again that this is

13:32what we're spending our time on with all that we have to deal with in this

13:35country and in the world right now this is what they think is so important to

13:40get an audio recording of something they already have the transcript of that this

13:45is the the world comes to an end if we don't do this we have to hold the

13:48Attorney General in contempt I mean give me a break I mean mr. McGovern this is

13:53an impeachment investigation and so I've not heard a single colleague explain how

13:58there might be something of value to understanding whether there's a high

14:01crime and misdemeanor caught in that minuscule space between the written

14:06version and the audio version not a single one has suggested how a high

14:10crime or misdemeanor will emerge in Joe Biden clearing his throat but I do

14:16believe that they might be able to find something with a cut-and-paste job to

14:21turn into a great political attack ad and nobody has denied that that's the

14:25real motivation this is not about high crimes or misdemeanors this is really

14:28about a distraction from the fact that their nominee for president is a

14:32convicted felon period I thank you for your time I yield back here thank you

14:39gentlemen generally yields back chair recognize the gentleman Pennsylvania for

14:41questions thanks mr. chairman

Jim McGovern Lights Into Jim Jordan For Not Appearing At Rules Committee Hearing

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