Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) reactions to the revised testimony of EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland and the testimony of special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker are night and day.
According to CNN Wednesday, Jordan dismissed the EU ambassador’s revised testimony by saying that “it is Sondland’s opinion.” The three new pages of Sondland’s sworn testimony released Tuesday confirmed that congressionally approved military aid hinged on the Ukrainian government’s public support of an investigation into the gas company that former Vice President Joe Biden’s son sat on the board of and the origins of the Russia probe.
Jordan specifically railed against the section of Sondland’s revised testimony that states that he’d “presumed that the aid suspension had become linked to the proposed anti-corruption statement.” Earlier Wednesday, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway took aim at the same section of Sondland’s testimony.
Jordan then argued that Volker’s testimony is a “definitive account.” Volker’s testimony, in which he claims that he wasn’t aware of any quid pro quo, gave an inside account of how Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani pressured the Ukrainian government to help Trump dig up false allegations on his political rivals.
“You all want to make a big deal out of Mr. Sondland’s presumption that he had in his statement yesterday, but Mr. Volker is the one who has, in my mind, a definitive account,” Jordan said. “I trust the call, I trust President Zelensky and President Trump and I trust the fact that the Ukrainians didn’t know that aid had been held and Ukrainians did nothing to get it released when it was released.”
Watch Jordan’s remarks below:
Jim Jordan: Volker has "a definitive account" unlike Sondland pic.twitter.com/NjWHPb4Z7L
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 6, 2019
Politico Playbook reported Wednesday morning that a handful of Republicans on Capitol Hill are ready to throw Sondland — who was expected to be a staunch Trump ally during the impeachment proceedings — under the bus following the release of his revised testimony.
Jordan’s response to the testimonies come a day after he confirmed his possible move to the House Intelligence Committee during a Tuesday morning appearance on “Fox & Friends.”
Earlier this week, Jordan shot down Trump’s claim that House Intel Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) “will change the words” of impeachment inquiry transcripts.
