Trump On Wrestlers Who Say Jim Jordan Ignored Abuse: ‘I Don’t Believe Them At All’

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 16: U.S. President Donald Trump, left, speaks with US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), center and US Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), right prior to signing H.J. Res. 38, dis... WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 16: U.S. President Donald Trump, left, speaks with US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), center and US Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), right prior to signing H.J. Res. 38, disapproving the rule submitted by the US Department of the Interior known as the Stream Protection Rule in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on February 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Department of Interior's Stream Protection Rule, which was signed during the final month of the Obama administration, "addresses the impacts of surface coal mining operations on surface water, groundwater, and the productivity of mining operation sites," according to the Congress.gov summary of the resolution. (Photo by Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he believes Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) denial that he knew anything about the systematic sexual abuse described by former members of the Ohio State University wrestling team, of which Jordan was once an assistant coach. 

“I don’t believe them at all,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, according to pool reporter Todd J. Gillman of The Dallas Morning News. “I believe him.”

“Jim Jordan is one of the most outstanding people I’ve met since I’ve been in Washington,” Trump continued. “I believe him 100 percent. No question in my mind. I believe Jim Jordan 100 percent. He’s an outstanding man.”

Jordan has denied several former wrestlers’ accusation that he knew about, and intentionally ignored, the systematic sexual abuse of students by the late Dr. Richard Strauss.

“It’s not true,” Jordan told Politico Tuesday. “I never knew about any type of abuse. If I did, I would have done something about it. And look, if there are people who are abused, then that’s terrible and we want justice to happen.”

“It’s sad for me to hear that he’s denying knowing about Strauss,” former OSU wrestler Dunyasha Yetts told NBC News, which the broke the story, after an earlier denial from Jordan.

“I don’t know why he would, unless it’s a cover-up,” Yetts said. “Either you’re in on it, or you’re a liar.”

“Based on testimony from victim athletes from each of the aforementioned varsity sports, we estimate that Strauss sexually assaulted and/or raped a minimum of 1,500/2,000 athletes at OSU from 1978 through 1998,” former wrestler Mike DiSabato wrote in a June 26 email to a law firm that represents Ohio State, as quoted by NBC News.

Latest Livewire
171
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. “I believe him 100 percent. No question in my mind. I believe Jim Jordan 100 percent. He’s an outstanding man.”

    He’s truly living in his own fabricated reality.

  2. Once Jordan is found to have known and IGNORED the sexual abuse during his tenure, Trump will say, “I don’t anything about it, never met the guy.”

  3. The dotard did not believe Roy Moore accusers when they came forward. I guess sexual assaults or things of that nature – are areas where he’ll look the other way. It’s pretty amazing how he’ll come out an emphatically defend his allies with limited knowledge or facts.

  4. Donald Trump, Character Witness ™

    a mockery of the absurd
    the onion wept

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

165 more replies

Participants

Avatar for ghost Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for squirreltown Avatar for teenlaqueefa Avatar for inversion Avatar for chelsea530 Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for maxaroo Avatar for geofu54 Avatar for leftcoaster Avatar for darrtown Avatar for zlohcuc Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for junebug Avatar for spencersmom Avatar for rickjones Avatar for katscherger Avatar for maximus Avatar for krux Avatar for drtv Avatar for justruss Avatar for ohcomeonnow Avatar for outis Avatar for swampsofjersey

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: