Rep. Jim Jordan Laughed When Wrestler Told Him About Sexual Abuse

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Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:31 pm

A witness has come forward with a story about now Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) laughing at an Ohio State wrestler when he was told about sexual abuse of the wrestlers by the team doctor.

CNN reported:
The former wrestler said he doesn’t have any personal grudges against Jordan — he supported him when he first ran for office, despite identifying as a Democrat. He remembers directly telling Jordan about Strauss’ behavior.

“I remember coming up and saying, ‘Strauss held my balls longer than normal.’ He just snickered.”

The former wrestler recalled one time when he went into the wrestling room at OSU and a few athletes and Jordan were “clumped together.” He said he remembered saying, “something to the effect of ‘his hands are cold as s**t; he checked out every hair on my ball,'” and said Jordan replied, “I have nothing to do with this” and walked away.

The I have nothing to do with this comment is damning because it shows that Jordan knew what was going on and was intentionally turning a blind eye to sexual abuse that occurred under his watch when he was a wrestling coach at Ohio State.

The allegation that Jordan laughed at sexual abuse should be another nail in his political coffin. So far, Jordan has been pulling pages straight from the Trump playbook by blaming Rod Rosenstein, Hillary Clinton, and the “deep state” for this scandal. The reality is that it is the word of numerous former Ohio State wrestlers versus a politician who is trying to protect his career by lying.

The wrestlers have nothing to gain by going public with their stories, but Jim Jordan has everything to lose if the truth is revealed. Instead of confronting the allegations directly, Rep. Jordan has chosen to smear the victims and try to hang on to his political career.

Motivations matter, and if Jordan laughed at a sexual abuse victim, he is not fit to serve in the House.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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