Rep. Louie Gohmert Defends Rep. Jim Jordan Against Claims That He Knew of OSU Wrestler's Sexual Abuse by Saying They 'Were Adults'
Stephen A. Crockett Jr.
The sexual-assault apologists just keep on coming out of the GOP woodwork. On Monday, Rep. Louie Gohmert defended his Republican brethren Jim Jordan of Ohio against allegations that he knew about reported abuse during his time as a wrestling coach at Ohio State University and did nothing to stop it.
"Unlike the Olympians who were minor children at the time they were abused, these former wrestlers were adults at the time they claim they were sexually abused by the Ohio State team doctor," the Texas Republican said in a statement, viewed by CNN. "Note that they do not claim they reported specific abuse to Jim Jordan or to anyone else. To the contrary, they specifically state they did not tell Jordan but instead say he should have known because there was talk around the locker room."
According to CNN, "Jordan's fellow members in the conservative House Freedom Caucus were urged to stand by him amid allegations that he knew about but did not report the alleged sexual abuse of wrestlers he coached at Ohio State University in the early 1990s."
Gohmert also criticized Perkins Coie, the law firm hired by Ohio State University to investigate the matter. Gohmert said the accusers found "willing and very expensive assistance of Perkins Coie, a Washington, D.C.-based dirty tricks law firm," although the firm doesn't represent any of the men who claim to have been abused.
"Perkins Coie boasts a client roster that includes the DNC, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and several Democrat Members of Congress," he said in the statement. "They were recently paid by Hillary Clinton and the DNC as a pass-through entity to hire Fusion GPS to concoct the salacious and unverified Russian dossier at the heart of the Clinton team's attempted take-down of President Trump."
So if we are reading this correctly, Gohmert has connected the law firm to the DNC and Hillary Clinton, and insinuates that there is some deep-seated conspiracy afoot despite the firm being hired by the university to conduct an independent investigation.
But Gohmert wasn't finished; he also noted that the doctor who reportedly assaulted the wrestlers is dead so what's the big deal?
"So this isn't even about prosecuting him," he said.
He ended the statement by confirming that he too, like the president of the United States, believes Jim Jordan.
"Given the inclusion of Perkins Coie in the mix, the likelihood increases that money has already changed hands to purchase a drive-by character assassination of beloved conservative Republican Congressman Jim Jordan," he said. "I personally vouch for the integrity of Jim Jordan."
I would say that this is shocking and disheartening but, this is [Trump's] America (Childish Gambino voice).