Jim Jordan's Attack on Joe Biden Backfires

Ohio congressman Jim Jordan has been mocked after he attempted to attack President Joe Biden using a line which critics said accurately describes actions of Donald Trump and other Republican figures.

In an interview with Fox News, Jordan gave an update to House Republicans' attempts to impeach Biden over allegations that the president intervened and personally benefited from his son Hunter Biden's foreign business deals while in office.

Hunter Biden has long denied the allegations, which House Republicans have not produced any evidence to back up. He refused to appear before a behind-closed-door deposition after stating he would only testify in a public hearing so people could see it is a "baseless" inquiry. The White House previously described the attempts by the GOP to impeach Biden as "sad, pathetic, and a waste of everyone's time."

Speaking to Fox News, Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, one of the panels involved in the impeachment inquiry into Biden, defended the investigation because "when you do something that benefits your family financially and you're a public official that's not supposed to happen."

A clip of Jordan's comments was widely shared on social media, prompting a number of users on X, formerly Twitter, to note that what Jordan described could easily be applied to Trump. The former president has repeatedly denied that he took steps to benefit financially using his private businesses or other sources while in office.

X users also noted how the former president's son-in-law Jared Kushner's private equity firm received a $2 billion investment from a fund led by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman six months after leaving the White House.

Others pointed out how conservative Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas has also faced calls to be impeached over allegations he and his wife Ginni Thomas had received vacations and gifts from GOP megadonors for years that were not declared.

"Is he joking here? He perfectly described Donald J. Trump," writer Dianne Callahan posted on X in response to a clip of Jordan's comments.

Another X user wrote "How utterly hypocritical. Trump's family and himself were constantly using every trick in the book to enrich themselves."

Norwegian journalist Morten Øverbye added: "**Exceptions apply for when your son-in-law and chief Middle East adviser gets $2 billion from the Saudis, your Secret Service agents has to hire your golf carts, and the foreign lobbyists has to stay at your hotel across the White House."

While sharing Jordan's comments, neurosurgeon Kyle Swanson said: "Agreed, time to impeach Clarence Thomas."

Jordan's office has been contacted for comment via email.

Elsewhere, Steve Benen, a producer for The Rachel Maddow Show and an MSNBC political contributor, noted in an editorial that a Politico report from January 2020 accused Trump of abusing his power while in the White House for allegedly "fusing his private business interests with America's highest public office."

Another report from the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) watchdog group in April alleged that Trump made up to $160 million from international business dealings connected to his family real estate business The Trump Organization while he was president.

"In case this isn't obvious, what benefited the Trump Organization necessarily benefited members of the former president's family," Benen wrote.

"All of which brings us back to what Jordan told Fox News' audience: 'When you do something that benefits your family financially and you're a public official, that's not supposed to happen. But that's exactly what it looks like took place.'

"Oddly enough, what the Judiciary Committee chairman said was true—except he was describing the actions of the wrong president," Benen added.