Rep. Jim Jordan speaks at CPAC in Maryland on Mar. 2. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Monday that a "bookkeeping error" is at the center of the investigation into former President Trump's alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Driving the news: "We don't think President Trump broke the law at all," said Jordan, a staunch Trump ally who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.
What he's saying: "President Trump announces he’s running for president and shazam!" Jordan told CNN at a GOP retreat in Florida. "Some bookkeeping error from seven years ago, [this] misdemeanor is now what they're going after."
Context: Media reports and the former president's own comments signal that an indictment from the Manhattan district attorney's office could be coming this week, and that Trump could be arrested.
Of note: Michael Cohen, Trump's ex-personal lawyer, has alleged that Trump directed him to make the hush money payment during the 2016 presidential election.
- He said Trump later reimbursed him for the payments through the Trump Organization as legal expenses.
- In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges that included campaign finance violations linked to payments to Daniels and another woman named Karen McDougal, who also claimed to have had an affair with Trump.
- Trump has denied the affairs.
Meanwhile, Jordan and two other House GOP committee chairs are seeking testimony from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over his office's probe into Trump.
- House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has ordered committees to investigate whether Bragg's office is using federal funds to conduct the investigation, and said that Jordan would lead the effort.