Jim Jordan explodes when asked to put on a mask, pivots to 'unmasking' of Michael Flynn

Rep. Jim Jordan.
(Image credit: Graeme Jennings-Pool/Getty Images)

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has successfully twisted a public health concern into a conservative conspiracy theory — but not the one of the dozens of COVID-19 conspiracies one might expect.

During a Wednesday hearing with the country's four biggest technology companies, Jordan used his questioning time to claim Google tried to help Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Penn.) was up next, and started her questioning by saying she would pivot from "fringe conspiracy theories" to anti-trust questions. Chaos predictably ensued.

"We have the email, there is no fringe—" Jordan interrupted before committee chair Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) cut him off. "Put your mask on," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) chimed in. Jordan then used Raskin's request to pivot to a favorite conspiracy: "You want to talk about masks? Why would the deputy secretary of the treasury unmask Michael Flynn's name?"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
See more

Jordan's outburst came just hours after Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) tested positive for COVID-19 and then walked around the House office building knowing he had it. Jordan was also reminded, albeit more gently, to put on his mask during a Tuesday hearing with Attorney General William Barr. Gohmert was also at that hearing, and one of his aides — and other Republican staffers — have since anonymously complained about the lack of mask compliance among their congressmembers. Kathryn Krawczyk

See more

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.