A key Republican ally of President Trump argued impeachment began long before the Ukraine controversy.
Instead, Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, said the Democratic-led effort, which has resulted in two articles of impeachment, began in the summer of 2016 with the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into members of Trump’s 2016 campaign.
“It didn’t even start with Ukraine. Impeachment started before this guy was president,” Jordan said Tuesday on Fox & Friends. “Impeachment started on July 31, 2016, when the FBI opened up an investigation and spied on four American citizens associated with the Trump campaign. And everything they did for that two and a half years until we finally got to Ukraine.”
At the start of its inquiry, the FBI looked into ties between Russia and four Trump campaign associates: Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos, and Carter Page. No evidence of criminal conspiracy was turned up by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.
Republican allies of the president have long accused the FBI of scheming with Democrats to undermine Trump, particularly in regards to the bureau’s use of British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s unverified dossier to obtain warrants to wiretap Page. A Justice Department inspector general report released last month faulted the FBI for its handling of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act process but did not find evidence that political bias influenced the decision to open the counterintelligence inquiry.
Trump now faces two articles of impeachment, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, spurred by his effort to pressure Ukraine to announce investigations into his political rivals, including 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden, while withholding the release of congressionally approved military aid to the country.
Jordan argued that the Ukraine controversy simply replaced the Russia debacle in the Democrats’ never-ending struggle to undermine Trump. He believes Americans see through the plot.
“It’s backfired on them because the American people understand facts. They understand truth, and they understand that the president did nothing wrong. And furthermore, they appreciate what the president’s doing in spite of the relentless attack from the Left,” he said.
Jordan also said he would be “happy” to join Trump’s legal team in a Senate impeachment trial if asked.
