The Republican strategy yesterday was basically to say there was no there there, to set the stage for Barr's investigation of Hillary Clinton and to bore the audience to death so that they would turn off the station and tune in something-- anything-- else. The worst was Gym Jordan. Yesterday the Wall Street Journal set the stage by re-publishing a year old piece by Ben Kesling and Kristina Peterson, Former Ohio State Wrestlers Say Rep. Jim Jordan Knew of Team Doctor’s Alleged Misconduct, proving that Jordan is an inveterate and practiced liar. Short version: "Lawmaker denies knowledge of alleged sexual abuse that occurred in the 1990s, when he was assistant coach."
Five former wrestlers, including former UFC world champion Mark Coleman, said this week that Rep. Jim Jordan was aware of, but didn’t respond to, allegations of sexual misconduct by an Ohio State University team doctor when the lawmaker was an assistant wrestling coach there in the 1990s.“There’s no way unless he’s got dementia or something that he’s got no recollection of what was going on at Ohio State,” Mr. Coleman, the mixed martial arts champion, said of Mr. Jordan in an interview Wednesday. Messrs. Coleman and Jordan roomed together on several wrestling trips, Mr. Coleman said. “I have nothing but respect for this man, I love this man, but he knew as far as I’m concerned.”Mr. Jordan has denied that he was aware of any sexual misconduct by Dr. Richard Strauss. The doctor died in 2005.If he had seen abuse at the time, “I would have done something about it,” the Ohio Republican said in an interview this week. “If there was abuse, we want justice done. There’s no room for this kind of behavior.”The focus on Mr. Jordan intensified in recent days when NBC News reported that three former wrestlers said Dr. Strauss’s inappropriate conduct was common knowledge. Eight people involved in Ohio State athletics in the 1990s spoke to the Wall Street Journal this week.The controversy over how much the Ohio Republican lawmaker may have known at the time could affect the career trajectory of one of the most influential conservatives in the House. Mr. Jordan helped found the House Freedom Caucus, a group of roughly three-dozen conservative Republicans, and said he has been considering a run to succeed departing House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI).“These are serious allegations and issues. The university has rightfully initiated a full investigation into the matter. The speaker will await the findings of that inquiry,” Doug Andres, a spokesman for Mr. Ryan, said in a statement.President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday he didn’t believe the allegations against Mr. Jordan. “I believe Jim Jordan 100 percent. He’s an outstanding man,” Mr. Trump said Thursday evening.“We are aware of reports that individuals at the university did not respond appropriately during Richard Strauss’s time at Ohio State from 1978 to 1998,” Chris Davey, a spokesman for the university said in an email Thursday. “These allegations are troubling and are a critical focus of the independent investigation that remains underway.”Former Ohio State wrestler Mike DiSabato has led a campaign to publicize Dr. Strauss’s alleged wrongdoings for months and only recently began to criticize Mr. Jordan for allegedly ignoring athletes’ concerns. Mr. DiSabato has been joined by other athletes who wrestled during Mr. Jordan’s tenure, as well as athletes from other teams and those who were aware of allegations about Dr. Strauss’s conduct.Mr. DiSabato and Mr. Jordan have clashed over the issue. Mr. Jordan’s office contacted the Capitol police after the lawmaker received allegedly threatening texts and emails from him, an aide said.Mr. DiSabato said he had absolutely not threatened Mr. Jordan and that he had not been contacted by law enforcement about text messages.In interviews this week, other former Ohio State athletes said Dr. Strauss’s abuses were well known on multiple sports teams. They said that even for minor injuries, Dr. Strauss would conduct unnecessary, full-body physical examinations, during which he would inappropriately touch them. He would also regularly watch them shower, the former athletes said.“I complained more than three times. I came across Strauss and I had a thumb injury, and ended up getting a physical,” said Dunyasha Yetts, a former Ohio State wrestler.He said that back in the 1990s people simply didn’t use the same language to describe abuse as is used today, but he recalls telling the coaches that Dr. Strauss was acting inappropriately and needed to be reprimanded.“If Jordan says he didn’t know about it then he’s lying,” said Mr. Yetts.This isn’t the first time the House has been jolted by sexual misconduct allegations. Recently, a series of lawmakers from both parties have left Congress after being accused of sexual misconduct as public scrutiny has intensified under the #MeToo movement.Ohio State has a continuing investigation by an outside law firm into allegations of abuse by Dr. Strauss that began on April 5, according to an Ohio State web page on the matter. Mr. Jordan initially said investigators had not contacted him, but later learned that they had used the wrong email address to try to reach him, according to an aide for Mr. Jordan.The university has received reports of sexual misconduct by Dr. Strauss from former athletes in 14 sports, according to its website. Dr. Strauss is also being investigated by an independent investigator authorized by the university for possible infractions as a student health doctor as well, according to the university website. He joined Ohio State’s staff in 1978 and retired in 1998.“I knew Strauss, he was there when I was there,“ said one former athlete. ”All the stuff they’re saying about Strauss was out there.”Dr. Strauss allegedly showered with athletes and on other occasions took photos of them for what he said was a planned book on musculature, according to the former athlete. “We thought he was weird but harmless,” the athlete said. “It was a different time.”
Gym Jordan, in encouraging Russian interference with the U.S. election in 2020. In other words, he's as much a traitor to America as he was to Ohio State University and, worse, to the young boys on the wrestling team who he allowed to be molested and raped.
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