Jim Jordan’s response to Trump’s “death & destruction” post

Representative Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican and staunch supporter of Donald Trump, gave no comment about a post the former president made on Friday in which he warned about potential “death & destruction” if he’s indicted as part of the hush money payment investigation involving adult film star Stormy Daniels.

When NBC News reporter Sahil Kapur asked the congressman about what he thinks of Trump’s post, Jordan said that he hasn’t seen it. Kapur then showed him the post on his phone, but the GOP lawmaker said he can’t read well without his glasses.

The former president is being investigated by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office for $130,000 that was paid to Daniels by his former attorney Michael Cohen ahead of the 2016 presidential election to keep secret an affair that Daniels claims she had with Trump in 2006.

Over the course of the investigation, Trump has repeatedly asserted his innocence, has denied the affair between him and Daniels, and called on his supporters to protest against the possible indictment. He also predicted last week that he would be arrested on Tuesday, but he wasn’t taken into custody.

In a Truth Social post early Friday, Trump slammed Bragg amid strong indications that a potential historic arrest is forthcoming.

“What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country? Why & who would do such a thing? Only a degenerate psychopath that truely [sic] hates the USA!” he wrote.

Prosecutors claim that the payment made to Daniels might be considered a campaign violation and also found that the Trump Organization documented the reimbursement to Cohen as legal expenses. It is against state law in New York for companies to misclassify the nature of expenses. This could lead to a misdemeanor charge for Trump, which might later become a felony if the misclassification took place in order to cover up another crime.

In light of the ongoing inquiry by Bragg’s office targeting the former president, Jordan and House GOP leaders launched their own probe into Bragg and his investigation for what they say is “an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.”

Earlier this week, Jordan and fellow Republicans asked in a letter for Bragg’s testimony. Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy ordered the House investigation into Bragg’s office.

In response, Bragg’s office wrote a letter to Jordan, pointing out that the House GOP was seeking “non-public information about a pending criminal investigation, which is confidential under state law.” On Friday, Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, told Kapur that he’s reviewing a letter by Bragg, however, it is unclear whether he was referring to the letter that was sent by the district attorney’s office.

Meanwhile, the House Judiciary GOP tweeted in response to Bragg’s letter on Thursday, “Alvin Bragg should focus on prosecuting actual criminals in New York City rather than harassing a political opponent in another state. Make Manhattan Safe Again!”

Trump would be the first president to be indicted for a crime if he is charged over the hush money paid to Daniels, which might weaken his chances to win in the 2024 presidential election.

Newsweek reached out to Jordan’s spokesperson by email for comment.