Rep. Jim Jordan clashes with CNN host in heated exchange about Trump indictment

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) clashed with CNN host Dana Bash Sunday morning in a heated exchange over former President Trump's federal indictment on handling of classified documents.

"This is as political as it gets. And, frankly, Dana, it's part of a pattern," Jordan said on CNN's "State of the Union."
"We have seen it time and time again with the President over the last seven years. They try one thing. Then they try another. They have continued to go after him. And I think anyone with common sense can see that."

To Bash's apparent frustration, Jordan repeatedly cited the standard by which, in his view, the case should be judged.

"The standard is clear," Jordan said, repeating the refrain in assorted iterations throughout the interview.

The standard to which Jordan repeatedly referred was a decision by Justice Harry Blackmun, a Nixon appointee, in Navy v. Egan.

"The president's ability to classify and control access to national security information flows from the Constitution. He decides. He alone decides. He said he declassified this material. He can put it wherever he wants. He can handle it however he wants. That's the law," Jordan said at the beginning of the interview, referring to the Navy v. Egan decision.