At Least 9 Victims Accuse Rep. Jim Jordan of Lying As He Cries Fake News

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

The exact number of former Ohio State wrestlers who have come out and accused Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of lying seems to be a topic of some dispute.

Shareblue Media reported that “A ninth wrestler has come forward to accuse Rep. Jim Jordan of turning a blind eye to serial sexual abuse while he was a wrestling coach at Ohio State University.”

“Rep Jim Jordan cries ‘fake news’ as 9th abuse victim comes forward”

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Then The Daily Beast posted an article saying “Two More OSU Wrestlers Say Rep. Jim Jordan Must Have Known About Sexual Abuse” which seems to push the number of reported accusers up to eleven.

The ninth documented former Ohio State athlete to publicly accuse Jordan said to CNN that Jordan continues to strongly deny that he was involved in covering up the reported sexual abuse and harassment “because obviously it would be political suicide for him,” and then adding, “He’s still denying it. Jim Jordan knew. He didn’t do anything about it.”

While the accusers keep coming out publicly to say Jordan is lying, he has been gathering support from the right-wingers who love his abrasive style and his unhinged attacks against Hillary Clinton, Rod Rosenstein, and the Deep State.

He also has begun ranting online about “fake news” as more and more reporters are accosting him and asking him questions that he steadfastly refuses to answer.

On Twitter, Jordan attacked CNN and fake news:

“Now @CNN is contacting all 100+ of our former staff and interns asking for dirt on me. Getting desperate! How can you ever trust such #fakenews?”

Since so many former Ohio State wrestlers have now accused the conservative congressman of knowing about the decades-long abuse by Dr. Richard Strauss, the team doctor. and doing nothing to stop it, CNN decided that to report the truth they needed to dig deeper into the story.   

But in the deranged world of Jim Jordan and Donald Trump when news organizations like CNN talk to sources, do in-depth research, and interview potential witnesses, this leads to the publication of “fake” news.

Most people don’t see such validated reporting as fake, however.  Most people see it as a concerted effort by a trusted news source to find and reveal the truth of Jordan’s situation, which he should welcome — unless he has something to hide.

Clearly when Jordan attacks “fake news” he is echoing his idol and his defender, the President of the United States.  Donald Trump continually uses the same term to defend himself whenever unflattering news stories appear in the media that reveal his mistakes, corruption, and lies.

The Ohio congressman has now even hired a public relations firm to help him manage the negative media coverage and to push back against the story line that has the potential to destroy his political career.

Jordan hired the conservative crisis management firm Shirley & Banister Public Affairs several days ago, and ever since he has been lashing out at the media and attacking his accusers.

Also, the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, which Jordan co-founded, voted as a group to support him during the controversy caused by the Ohio State sex scandal.

Republicans always seem to  “circle the wagons” whenever a member of their party is accused of sexual abuse. They backed alleged pedophile Roy Moore in Alabama. The continually support Donald Trump despite over 20 women accusing him of some type of sexual misconduct.

Jim Jordan is now operating from the GOP playbook. No matter how serious the charges are, or how overwhelmingly strong the evidence is, they close ranks and go on the attack. They smear the victims of sexual abuse and try to destroy their lives for having the gall to go public with their accusations.

The Jim Jordan scandal will not be going away any time soon.  It is not something he can dispose of by crying “fake news” and getting right-wing politicians and media personalities to support him.

Someday Jim Jordan will be held to account for what he did — and for what he didn’t do.  Someday he will have to face the music, and face his accusers.  We sincerely hope that this day comes soon.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.