Jim Jordan's 'weaponization' committee 'contradicts sworn testimony' and 'ignores key events': analysis

09 March 2023

Rep. Jim Jordan's (R-OH) Weaponization of the Federal Government Subcommittee's latest hearing blatantly ignores the recent testimony from a former Twitter executive, Yoel Roth, The Washington Post senior political correspondent Aaron Blake reports.

When it comes to Jordan's belief the Democrats "suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story," Blake writes, the GOP-led committee's investigation has proven to "include plenty of supposition and elaborate theorizing — even as that has often run afoul of the known facts."

Blake writes:

Less than a minute into his opening statement, Jordan invoked Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, Yoel Roth.

'So what did the government tell him? A hack-and-leak operation was coming. How often did the government tell him this? Repeatedly for a year. When did the government say it was going to happen? October of 2020. And who did the government say it would involve? Hunter Biden,' Jordan said.

'The FBI knows what's going to happen, when it's going to happen, and who it's going to involve. Now that's amazing,' he continued. 'So maybe they get the time right, but they got the time, they got the method, and they got the person. That's amazing. It’s almost like these guys were clairvoyant.'

During the committee's first hearing last month, according to The Post, Roth asserted "it wasn't the government that suggested such a hack-and-leak operation might involve Hunter Biden" as "he believed that that information had actually had come from another company."

Roth said, "I don’t believe that perspective was shared by law enforcement. They didn't endorse it. They didn't provide that information."

Blake writes:

Roth said some people had drawn the wrong conclusion based on a misreading of an affidavit he had signed. In the affidavit, he described meetings with federal law enforcement in which he was warned about potential foreign hack-and-leak operations shortly before the 2020 election. The affidavit stated: 'I also learned in these meetings that there were rumors that a hack-and-leak operation would involve Hunter Biden.'

According to Blake, Roth confirmed last month that "he hadn't said law enforcement was his source."

Roth noted, "In one of those meetings, it was discussed, I believe by another company, that there was a possibility the hack-and-leak could relate to Hunter Biden and Burisma."

Blake noted, however, that "Jordan's summary is also contradicted by a November deposition from the former FBI agent whom Roth cited as warning of the hack-and-leak operations, Elvis Chan. 'I do not remember us specifically saying ‘Hunter Biden’ in any meeting,' Chan said in the deposition.'"

Moreover, Blake wrote, "Jordan's summary ignored key events, and it is contradicted by sworn testimony previously delivered by two key witnesses — including one who was responding to questions from Jordan himself."

The Washington Post's full report is available at this link (subscription required).

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