Republican Representative Jim Jordan, a close ally of Donald Trump, claimed that they would be defunding federal police following Trump’s indictment by a New York City grand jury.
During an interview with Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Jordan – an Ohio congressman and chair of the House Judiciary Committee – stated that the Republicans would consider defunding the agencies that played a role in the investigation against former President Trump which led to his indictment.
A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump in connection with an alleged hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election. According to Daniels, the payment was made in exchange for her silence about an extramarital affair she had had with Trump. Trump has repeatedly denied both the affair and any wrongdoing and has claimed that the investigation is a political “witch hunt.”
During the interview, Jordan claimed that they “control the power of the purse.” He added that they were going to be looking into all of these agencies in order to review the “appropriation process” and possibly limit the funds available to them in order to prevent the “weaponization of government.”
Bartiromo then asked for clarifications, wondering if that included both the Department of Justice and the FBI. In response Jordan said “Yes.” He then added that the government needed to stay outside the election process. Previously, Jordan had been a vocal opponent of defunding the police.
