--:-- [Sound of a news theme song fades out]
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Welcome to this extra edition of Morning Wire. I'm John Bickley, and I'm joined today by Congressman Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee and the Weaponization Subcommittee.
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Congressman, let's dive right in. A series of congressional investigations prompted hearings this week that led to some headline-grabbing accusations and revelations, including allegations of political targeting by both the FBI and the FTC. Can you walk us through what you've uncovered and what actions you're taking to address the issue?
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Well, we've been investigating the weaponization of federal agencies, and this week's hearings were a big part of that. We had the FTC Commissioner, Lena Kahn, testify before our committee, and we revealed that she sent 12 demand letters in 10 weeks and over 350 separate requests to Twitter and Elon Musk personally.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): That's quite a number. Did you get to the bottom of her, one might say, obsession with Twitter?
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Well, I think that's the right word. We asked her why she was harassing Twitter, and she said they were doing their job in enforcing the consent decree. But I think even more important than the number of letters is the fact that in those letters, they ask who the journalists are that Twitter is talking to. For goodness sake, someone needs to get an education on how the First Amendment works.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): That's a great point. And then in the context of Elon Musk and Twitter, they were talking to these journalists to help expose the government pressuring big tech to limit American speech and journalism. I mean, that just makes it even more concerning.
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Exactly. And she didn't have a whole lot of answers for that. She just tried to say that they were doing their job in enforcing the consent decree.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): But it seems like there's more to it than that. You mentioned that the letters started before Twitter was even required to have their privacy policy and procedures in place. And it came right after she got letters and press releases from seven United States senators, all Democrats, from her former bosses. So after that kind of correspondence, she goes after Twitter. That's pretty telling.
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Yeah, it is. And maybe more importantly is the court filing that was filed today in the Northern District of California, where Twitter showed that in a deposition, the FTC actually talked to Ernst & Young, the individual who was going to be the fact finder, the independent assessor in this consent decree, and whether it's being followed.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): And what did they find out?
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Well, in a deposition, the lawyer from the FTC asked this person from Ernst & Young, "Now, no one's pressuring you to do anything." And he goes, "Well, not really. We were told by the FTC we had to do it this way. We had to have certain findings." And it was basically like they were putting their thumb on the scale to pressure the folks from Ernst & Young.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): That's outrageous. And then Ernst & Young said, "And we thought about withdrawing, not doing this, just stepping out of this and not being the independent fact finder or independent assessor. But we were concerned we'd be retaliated against if the government would come after us."
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Now, if that's not the weaponization of government, I don't know what is.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Have we seen anything like this before? Is this part of a larger pattern?
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: I sure haven't seen anything like that from the FTC, but frankly, from other agencies. You know, think about this. One of those four journalists that the FTC identified in these 12 letters, one of those four journalists came and testified in front of that Select Committee on the Weaponization of Government, Matt Taibbi. While he's testifying, the IRS was knocking on his door, coming after him for some tax issue. It turned out they owed him money, but he didn't owe the IRS any money.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): That's the kind of scary stuff that's going on in these agencies. And maybe just as importantly, the decision we got last week relative to the censorship, the decision from the court in the Western District of Louisiana was a strong decision saying you got to stop this pressuring of big tech companies to censor Americans.
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: That's all part of this. Agencies being turned on the American people.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Turning now to the White House, the Secret Service has concluded its investigation into who brought cocaine into the West Wing of the White House. Should the American people be satisfied with their findings?
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Well, I think it said we don't know and we're not going to be able to find it. I mean, this is supposedly the most secure place on the planet and someone brings in an illegal substance to the White House and you don't know how that happens. Come on, really, that's where this is going to end up.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Now, there's a growing concern about transparency with various wings of our federal government. What are some of the tools in the toolbox of the House GOP to rein in some of these departments like the FBI and force accountability? What can you guys do?
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Well, specifically the FBI, a certain section of the FISA Act is up for reauthorization. There's no way we're going to reauthorize that in this current form. We talked about this yesterday in the hearing with Director Wray. And then the real power the House has, the legislative body has, is the power of the purse. So we have to use the appropriations process where we allocate taxpayer dollars for the funding of the government and the running of agencies and functions the government has.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): And how do you plan to use that power?
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: We have to use that process to say, you can't spend money for certain things. You can't spend money to in any way limit American speech to infringe on their First Amendment liberties. You can't have additional money at the FBI to build a new headquarters, for goodness sake.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): That's sort of the primary leverage you have. And then continue to do the investigation to make sure the country knows what exactly is happening at these agencies.
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Now, your committees have hosted a lot of congressional hearings, and a lot has come out of them in terms of information and headlines. But how effective are these? Do you feel like you're getting actual tangible results from these hearings?
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Congressman, let's talk about the effectiveness of these hearings. Do you feel like you're getting actual tangible results from these hearings?
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Well, I think the investigations are good at getting facts. You know, we do some weeks, five, six depositions a week where we're interviewing people, getting the facts. We put out several reports that lay out these facts. I think that's really valuable.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Hearings, you got to have that so that the country sees. But I think a lot of times these witnesses come here and they say, "Well, I can get back with you. I can answer that. I won't be able to answer that. I have to go back." That's frustrating for everybody.
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Something we have to do, it's part of the process. But I think in the end, where we can make real change is in the appropriations process with legislation when we need to.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): And frankly, the speaker's been clear about this, if we look into some of these things that we've now learned from whistleblowers and others, if it gets to the level where we need to start an inquiry relative to removing some people from office, I think the speaker mentioned that, you know, do we at some point maybe get to an impeachment inquiry for Merrick Garland? We'll see, but we first got to get the facts and see if we get to that stage after we do our work.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Final question. We've seen a lot of rapid-fire developments in Washington this week, including more details about allegations of Biden family corruption. What, from your perspective as head of multiple committees, is a question that needs further investigation?
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: I would just say this. I do think now with this whistleblower who came forward from the IRS with the Biden business operation, I think this has become a fundamental question. Who are you going to believe? Gary Shapley, the whistleblower, 14-year veteran of the IRS, handled the biggest international tax fraud cases, memorialized everything that was going on in the Biden investigation in a contemporaneous timeframe, sent emails to people on the investigation, emails came back, it's all there in the record.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): You're going to believe him? Or are you going to believe the Biden-Garland Justice Department that, again, said parents were terrorists at school board meetings, said pro-life Catholics are extremists, that is involved in censorship and rated the home of a former president?
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Who are you going to believe? And I think when you frame it that way and just look at that, I think a lot of Americans are going to say, you know what? This whistleblower seems very, very credible. And all kinds of things we've heard from the Biden Justice Department, the Biden administration, just don't add up.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Well, Congressman, thank you so much for joining us.
--:-- Congressman Jim Jordan: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- [Sound of a news theme song fades in]
