Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has been caught in a blatant lie regarding the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the role that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in allegedly not allowing the National Guard to assist the Capitol police.
For weeks, Jordan has been suggesting that Pelosi initially refused to grant a request for National Guard troops to bolster Capitol defenses after thousands of pro-Trump supporters rioted and forced their way into the Capitol building.
But a Washington Post fact-checker has called out Jordan for his specious assertion.
Capitol Police requested National Guard help prior to January 6th.
That request was denied by Speaker Pelosi and her Sergeant at Arms.
During the attack, Capitol Police made the request again.
It took over an hour to get approval from Pelosi’s team! https://t.co/ctOWZ4PExw
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 15, 2021
As Glenn Kessler of the Post notes, Jordan’s claim isn’t supported by what actually happened:
“There are three key players here: Steven A. Sund, the U.S. Capitol Police chief; Paul D. Irving, the House sergeant-at-arms, and Michael C. Stenger, the Senate sergeant-at-arms. All three resigned under pressure after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
“Without evidence, Jordan asserted that House Speaker Pelosi had denied a request for National Guard troops two days before the insurrection. Instead, public testimony shows she did not even hear about the request until two days later. Jordan also tried to pin the blame on the House sergeant-at-arms, but testimony shows the Senate sergeant-at-arms also was not keen about the idea.
“We will keep an eye on this issue in case new information emerges that would result in a new rating. But for the moment, Jordan earns Four Pinocchios for his tweet. Speculation is not the same as evidence.”
Of course, Jordan’s blatant lie about Pelosi shouldn’t surprise anyone. After all, for months now Republicans such as the Ohio congressman have been claiming that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Donald Trump and pumping out absurd conspiracy theories about how voting machine software changed millions of votes across the country from Trump to President Joe Biden. However, they haven’t provided a shred of credible evidence to back up those claims.
The GOP is now little more than a loosely organized group of liars, conspiracy theorists, and grifters intent on destroying the country for their own financial and political gain. No wonder so many Americans are turning their back on the Republican Party.
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