Rep. Louie Gohmert on Monday defended Rep. Jim Jordan from accusations that he knew about allegations of sexual abuse at Ohio State University more than two decades ago, and blamed a “dirty tricks law firm” with ties to Democrats for raising the allegations.
Gohmert, R-Texas, said Jordan, R-Ohio, was a “fine and decent person,” and said he suspects there are political reasons why the allegations are surfacing now. Jordan has been accused of knowing that a former team doctor at the university was abusing wrestlers on the team when Jordan was an assistant coach.
Gohmert specifically cited the involvement of Perkins Coie, a law firm in Washington, DC, as evidence that the allegations are a smear campaign against Jordan.
“They waited over 20 years to make these allegations with the willing and very expensive assistance of Perkins Coie, a Washington, D.C.-based dirty tricks law firm,” Gohmert said, adding that the law firm has worked with Democrats before.
“Perkins Coie boasts a client roster that includes the [Democratic National Committee], Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and several Democrat members of Congress,” he said. “They were recently paid by Hillary Clinton and the DNC as a pass-through entity to hire Fusion GPS to concoct the salacious and unverified Russian dossier at the heart of the Clinton team’s attempted take-down of President Trump.”
“Given the inclusion of Perkins Coie in the mix, the likelihood increases that money has already changed hands to purchase a drive-by character assassination of beloved conservative Republican Congressman Jim Jordan,” he said. “I personally vouch for the integrity of Jim Jordan.”
Seven former wrestlers at Ohio State have claimed Jordan must have known about alleged sexual abuse by former team doctor Richard Strauss, who committed suicide in 2005. Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach at the university from 1987 to 1995, and he has vehemently denied having any knowledge of the misconduct.
“This has every appearance of greed trying to gain twice from the same smear,” Gohmert said of the allegations about Jordan. “First, trying to finally have a successful law suit against Ohio State University after failed previous claims. Second, whatever payments were received for trying to destroy President Trump may be available to destroy other high-achieving Republicans, like Jim Jordan.”
