House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday offered support for Rep. Jim Jordan, an occasional political foe who is facing allegations he ignored sexual abuse of wrestlers by a team doctor while he was serving as a coach at Ohio State University decades ago.
“Jim Jordan is a friend of mine,” Ryan, R-Wis., said. “We haven’t always agreed with each other but I’ve always known Jim to be a man of honesty and a man of integrity.”
Jordan told reporters Tuesday he plans to sit down with Ohio State University investigators probing the allegations, which date back to the 1980s.
“We are going to sit down and do the interview,” Jordan said.
House Republicans from across all factions are rallying around Jordan, R-Ohio, who is a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and a possible but long-shot contender for House speaker next year.
A GOP lawmaker stood up in a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning to defend Jordan, who said he had no knowledge of accusations against the former team doctor.
Ryan said Ohio State should investigate the abuse allegations but told reporters the House Ethics Committee has no authority to get involved.
“The Ethics Committee here investigates things that members do while they are here, not things that happened a couple of decades ago,” Ryan said. “I think … Ohio State should do an investigation of these abuses of their athletes.”
Several former wrestlers say Jordan knew of or must have known of the allegations, while a half dozen former coaches and a group of other former wrestlers have come out in Jordan’s defense and said Jordan would not ignore claims if they were made.
“I’m getting all kinds of support,” Jordan said. “Six coaches and all kinds of wrestlers have said the same thing I have. You know why they said that? Because it’s the truth.”
Jordan and defenders believe the accusations are politically motivated because Jordan has been at odds with the Department of Justice over congressional requests for documents related to the FBI’s probe of Hillary Clinton’s private email server and the Trump campaign’s investigation alleged collusion with Russians.
Two people with Democratic ties have asked the outside Office of Congressional Ethics to open a probe. But the OCE can only refer cases to the House Ethics Committee, which has the ultimate authority to decide what to investigate.
Ryan and Jordan have been at odds frequently over legislation and the direction of the GOP and Jordan has helped sink key Ryan priorities, such as passage of the Farm Bill this summer.
