Rep. Jim Jordan Responds To Allegations He Ignored Sexual Abuse

I hate this whole Jim Jordan thing.

Obviously, I don’t know what happened – I wasn’t there – so I won’t pretend to.

I’m just disappointed it’s happening.

Recently, a number of individuals have come forward to report sexual misconduct by a member of the Ohio State faculty.

Others allege that Rep. Jordan knew about it, and did nothing to stop it.

He is now firmly denying those claims:

According to Fox News: 

Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, hit back Friday against claims he ignored sexual abuse while he coached wrestling at Ohio State University, telling Fox News that the allegations are “bogus.”

Speaking with Brett Baier in an exclusive interview on “Special Report,” Jordan said the claims were untrue. “I never saw, never heard of, never told of any kind of abuse,” he maintained. “We would’ve dealt with it if we knew of anything that happened.”

I’d like to think that would be the case.

Male athletes from 14 sports at Ohio State have reported alleged sexual misconduct by Richard Strauss, who was on the faculty and medical staff and published a variety of research. Strauss died in 2005, in what was ruled a suicide.

It sounds like there’s a possibility years of abuse weighed heavily on him…

Jordan was the assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State between 1986 and 1994. Strauss worked as the team doctor from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s.

People now allege that during this time, Jordan knew about the abuse going on.

Jordan, a notable wrestler at the University of Wisconsin before becoming a coach at Ohio State, knew when he was at the university that Strauss was groping male wrestlers, said ex-wrestlers Mike DiSabato and Dunyasha Yetts. At least five wrestlers, in total, have made similar claims.

“I know they know what they’re saying is not true. And they’re saying it anyway,” Jordan said.

And it is my unfortunate suspicion as well… Jordan believes his prominent role within the GOP has a lot to do with the timing of the allegations against him.

A founder of the conservative Freedom Caucus, Jordan is one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress and a potential contender for House speaker after Paul Ryan steps down from the position.

He’s taken leading roles in fighting the Affordable Care Act, and in pushing back against the government’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, most recently by aggressively interrogating Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in committee.

That prominent position, the representative argued, could factor into the recent allegations.

“I think the timing is suspect when you think about how this whole story came together after the Rosenstein hearing and the speakers race,” he said. “But it is just not accurate.”

Something worth noting – the law firm conducting an investigation against him aided in the notorious “Dossier” Hillary Clinton had put together on Trump.

At times visibly upset during the Friday interview, Jordan said he’d had an emotional week following the marriage of one of his children and the death of his nephew in a car accident.

“What has been said about me is completely false,” he continued. “We’re going to get the truth out. It’s been an emotional week. All types of Americans have to deal with tough things but this is wrong. It’s just wrong.”

Indeed, if the allegations against him are fabricated for political gain… they’re the lowest kind of low.