Just how many times did Republican Jim Jordan speak to Donald Trump during the iMAGA mob insurrection?
That's the question on people's minds after the Ohio GOP Representative suddenly changed his story regarding the number of phone calls he exchanged with the former President during the January 6 Capitol riot.
Speaking to Politico, Jordan recalled he and Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz got on the phone call with Trump while the insurrection was underway and asked him to tell his supporters to "stand down."
Jordan said:
"Look, I definitely spoke to the President that day. I don't recall—I know it was more than once, I just don't recall the times."
He added that he was "sure" that one of the phone calls was made in the safe room "because we were in that room forever." However, he said he would have to "think about" whether Gaetz participated or not.
That's a different account from what he told Spectrum News in an interview last month:
"Yeah, I mean I speak, I spoke with the President last week. I speak with the President all the time. I spoke with him on January 6th."
"I mean I talk with President Trump all the time. And that's, that's, I don't think that's unusual."
"I would expect members of Congress to talk with the President of the United States when they're trying to get done the things they told the voters in their district to do."
"I'm actually kind of amazed sometimes that people keep asking this question. Of course, I talk to the President all the time."
"I talked, like I said, I talked with him last week."
And when asked whether he and Trump spoke before, during or after the insurrection, Jordan fumbled before attempting to change the subject:
"Uh, I'd have to go, I'd, I, I, I spoke with him that day after, I think after. I don't know if I spoke with him in the morning or not."
"I just don't know. Uh, I'd have to go back and, I mean I don't, I don't, I don't know, uh, that, when those conversations happened."
"But, um, what I know is that I spoke with him all the time."
Could Jordan be trying to straighten out his story if he's called to testify before the House Select Committee investigating the attack?
Social media users seem to think so.
He's been branded a liar.
Jordan's statement that he and Gaetz had asked Trump to tell insurrectionists was also skewered.
Although Gaetz has not remarked on Jordan's comments directly, a spokesperson told Politico that he speaks with Trump regularly and "doesn't disclose the substance of those discussions with the media."
The intrigue over Jordan's comments has intensified after the House Select Committee said it will ask telecommunications companies to preserve the phone records of lawmakers who participated in the "Stop the Steal" rally ahead of the insurrection.
Sources who spoke to CNN said the committee opted against making public the names of the lawmakers whose records are under scrutiny, but other sources said the list includes several prominent Republicans.
These include Colorado GOP Representative Lauren Boebert, Georgia GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan.
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