Trump gives Medal of Freedom to congressman who helped incite riot at Capitol

Donald Trump announced Monday that he will award the highest civilian honor to Rep. Jim Jordan. Just days earlier, the Ohio Republican helped incite a terrorist attack on the Capitol as he tried to overturn the 2020 election.

In a press statement, the White House noted that the Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to those who have made “especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

Claiming that Jordan had used his perch on the House Oversight Committee to “uncover” Democratic failures and to defend Trump against “the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption,” the release praises him as “an inspiration to freedom-loving Americans everywhere and has distinguished himself as one of the most consequential members of Congress of his generation.”

Like Trump, Jordan has spent the past two months pushing false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and scheming to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. These false claims fueled angry Trump supporters to riot on Wednesday, mounting a deadly armed assault on the Capitol building.

The Dayton Daily News editorial board wrote Sunday night that Jordan was “on the hook” for helping to instigate the “siege.”

Even after the deadly riots, Jordan voted twice to overturn the Electoral College results.

The White House statement announcement also claimed that “In 2012, Jordan led the effort to unearth one of the worst scandals in the history of the Treasury Department. As a result of his investigation, the Treasury Department Inspector General and the Oversight Committee found that the IRS was systematically targeting conservative organizations.”

Jordan and other conservatives falsely charged that the Internal Revenue Service discriminated against tea party groups by scrutinizing their application for tax-exempt status. In reality, documents revealed that the agency similarly scrutinized progressive groups — for an even longer period than their conservative counterparts.

Trump has been using his final days in office to reward cronies and political allies with an array of special perks. He just last week issued a Medal of Freedom to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), another fierce Trump defender who attempted to overturn Biden’s victory last week, lauding his discredited efforts to undermine the Russia investigation after the 2016 election.

Jordan has been an attack dog for Trump, spreading lies and defending the White House’s myriad ethical violations.

According to Media Matters, Jordan has made the most appearances on Fox News of any member of Congress in recent years — including 286 appearances on the network’s weekday programs between August 1, 2017, and December 23, 2020.

His own behavior has come under scrutiny after some former students at the Ohio State University, where Jordan worked as a coach on the wrestling team in the late 1980s and early 1990s, alleged he failed to report sexual abuse. Jordan denied any wrongdoing.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.