Jordan Ignored Wrestlers At OH State Yet Complains Trump’s Detail Was ‘Ignored.’ Wasn’t Asked How Often HE Ignored Sexual Abuse Of Wrestlers

I’m sick and tired of a worthless P.O.S. who’s never sponsored, much less passed a single piece of legislation posturing all the time. Of a guy who is oh so self-righteous about morals, and right and wrong yet spent some years ignoring pleas from college wrestlers he coached for help dealing with a team doctors who was a sexual predator.  However, THAT friends is what we have with Jacketless “Gym” Jordan, Republican from Ohio famously refuses to wear a suit jacket or sportcoat.

He loves sitting up there on the dais during hearings in shirtsleeves shouting and posturing, no doubt wishing he could be wearing a singlet from back in his wrestling days to show how buff and tough he is. (To be fair when young he was a world class wrestler) He’s always been a bomb throwing attack dog and even when there’s not “there” there he finds a way to stir something up. It’s clear there was a tragic breakdown in security at the Trump campaign even in Butler, Pennsylvania so he was loaded for bear when Secret Service head Kimberly Cheatle appeared at a hearing this morning. There WERE actual legitimate questions to be asked.

Knowing some of what I do I know that not just members of that committee (and Democrats had some tough questions of their own) and the public at-large would be frustrated. For one thing the kind of deep dive the internal Secret Service investigations and other investigations require takes time. It’s common for initial reports and even information that comes out for days afterwards of a shooting to wind up being incorrect.

We are past that initial point and anything officially released needs to be carefully vetted to the last detail that can be learned. Then there’s the issue of NOT compromising key details of how the Secret Service goes about doing what it does. At least not in a public setting.  Bad actors pay attention and the Secret Service’s job is difficult enough without having to disclose certain details about procedures. Finally there’s the matter of two major Party’s Presidential candidates are still ongoing. Trump’s team has to keep on with their tasks and THEY have some tough questions to answer. But they also have a Protectee to guard.  They might also, if (as it seems) protocol wasn’t followed face Professional Standards review which is personnel stuff. That of course is confidential. I’m not sure if they are allowed counsel during questioning but if they retain lawyers that will further complicate things.

Bottom line? As I said the committee and the public wanted answers this morning that Ms. Cheatle sometimes couldn’t give even if she had rock solid information with which to answer them.  It was still useful. Knowing that agency was under scrutiny that wouldn’t be going away means certain folks (in particular Trump’s detail and state and local LE) will want to think twice about trying to cover up. Better to, if only grudgingly admit any mistakes and beg for mercy. Maybe they can keep their jobs even. But some will, or damn well should lose theirs. Either way trying to lie and cover up puts them at risk of prosecution.

There were legitimate questions to pose and even Democrats put some forth. However there was also the opportunity to do what “Gym” Jordan lives for – GRANDSTANDING.  As this article from The Hill indicates he was prepared to set up what he hoped would be a tag line or two. Part of one of them made it into the title. It came from this exchange:

“So which is it? Because both statements can’t be true. Were you guessing or lying when you said you didn’t turn down a request from President Trump’s detail?” Jordan asked Cheatle.

“Neither,” Cheatle responded. “What I can tell you is that for the event in Butler, there were no requests that were denied,” she added, referring to the Pennsylvania town where Trump’s rally was held.

Jordan assumed being a “girl” Cheatle would be rocked back on her heels. I guess he didn’t pay attention to her opening statement. She served herself, working her way up through the ranks of the Secret Service.  Maybe not a world class wrestler like Jordan once was but she’s quite capable of handling herself in physical confrontations with bigger and/or stronger men. Hell, she’s younger than Jordan and he’s not a large guy. He might be surprised if he were to tangle with her.

Well, getting back to the point Jordan wasn’t happy she swatted him aside so he kept bloviating. He sarcastically suggested maybe they (Trump’s detail) got tired of asking. He hated learning no requests for extra resources for Butler was denied so he started hammering Cheatle for an exact number of times requests for more agents from Trump’s team had been denied. Again, the answer to that is nuanced. First revealing how often and for what events extra resources might have been requested is information not suitable for public consumption. Second, threats can sometimes be met not by more Secret Service agents (already spread too thin) but in other ways:

Cheatle wouldn’t say how many times Trump’s team had asked for more personnel, but she defended the agency’s decision.

“A denial of a request does not equal a vulnerability. There are a number of ways that threats and risks can be mitigated with a number of different assets, whether that be through personnel, whether that be through technology, or other resources,” she said.

Again, Jordan doesn’t “do nuance.” He’s a sh*tbomb thrower. He only had five minutes so he used them like he always does – for grandstanding and posturing. Still, let’s go back to that first exchange I blocked out when Jordan tried to trick-bag Cheatle with a lose-lose answer question and she slipped it with a quiet but firm “neither.” The fantasy section of my brain activated. Director Cheatle probably knew either Jordan or Comer would focus on this ‘how often have you denied Trump’s protective detail’s request for more agents?’ Other GOPers surely would too but it was the first half hour that mattered because that’s when most people would be watching because that’s about how low cable news channels would run things live.  By the time Cheatle had finished giving the response I highlighted above I thought about  how awesomely great it would have been if she’d turned right around and asked HIM ‘How many times did YOU ignore wrestlers under your care at Ohio state about the team doctor sexually abusing them?’

Is it too much to hope that one day in a high profile setting a moment like that will come along and a witness, one of substance (like the Director of the Secret Service) has a chance to flip Jordan’s ‘why didn’t you?’ script back on him? That someone either loses patience with his posturing, or knows they might have a chance and prepares for it and is about to leave govt. service and no longer cares about fallout? I’ve said before I have some weird fantasies, but still I hope to see ones like this come true.

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