Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, this week accused Democratic leaders of keeping Republicans in the dark about coordination on investigations related to President Trump.
In a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, Jordan demanded answers about why the Maryland Democrat’s execution of a nonpublic “Memorandum of Understanding” with Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., never came up with Republicans.
Jordan, the top Oversight Committee Republican, said the issue was never broached with GOP members until he found out.
“You did not consult with Republican Members of the Committee or allow Members to consider and debate the terms of your MOU before executing the MOU with Chairwoman Waters,” Jordan wrote. “You did not disclose the MOU’s existence to Members or the American people until after I raised the matter.”
According to Jordan, Cummings vowed to share House Oversight Committee information with Waters in the covert agreement, even though doing do could conflict with House rules. Jordan said the agreement with Waters stipulated Cummings would consult her before issuing a subpoena.
“If you intend to continue to use the Committee’s limited resources to attack President Trump for political gain, I hope that you will at least be transparent about your actions,” Jordan wrote. “Your ability to function as a fair and unbiased finder of fact is now at grave risk. The Members of the Committee — and, more importantly, the American citizens we represent —deserve to know exactly how you are leading this Committee.”
Jordan’s letter demands Cummings provide information on all memorandums of understanding dating back to January, including why Republican members of the House Oversight Committee were not consulted beforehand.
Spokesmen for the House Financial Services and Intelligence committees did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
Jordan first raised the issue in a memo of his own criticizing Cummings’ “partisan and unprecedented” subpoena to accounting firm Mazars USA for all records the accounting firm has concerning Trump, his revocable trust, the Trump Organization, and other Trump interests.
The subpoena came after Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen testified to the panel and said Trump exaggerated his assets in financial statements to deceive lenders and investors. Cohen, who is set to serve a three-year sentence for campaign finance crimes and lying to Congress, shared copies of several financial statements from Trump.
