January 6 The jury asks Jim Jordan about his messages to Donald Trump

The congressional committee investigating the January 6 uprising has turned its sights to another lawmaker, this time asking Congressman Jim Jordan to turn over any communications he had with former President Donald. Trump and those seeking to elevate the election.

In a letter released Wednesday, the bipartisan committee asked Jordan to “cooperate voluntarily” on an ongoing mission to look into who was behind the January 6 violence — and discover whether the House What role did Trump’s White play in trying to stage a coup.

Jordan’s parliamentary office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jordan (R-OH) sparked curiosity again during a House Rules Committee meeting in October when he asserted that he contacted Trump after the uprising, but not during the attack. into the United States Capitol building. However, members of the panel said they consider Jordan, a longtime Trump ally and best friend of former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in Congress, as a potentially important witness to events that day.

Jordan appeared in an important text message to Meadows that the committee released. In that text, Jordan quotes from a document that lays out a plan to overturn the election. While the committee did not initially reveal that it was Jordan who sent the text to Meadows, Jordan later admitted to a right-wing media outlet that it was him.

The committee’s request is not a subpoena, so the MP is not required to appear and testify behind closed doors or deliver documents, as others have done. But today’s move could be the first step in this process, as the commission has taken increasingly harsh measures against witnesses who refuse to cooperate with its investigation.

The panel voted to hold three witnesses in contempt: one-time White House adviser Steve Bannon, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, and Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff.

Earlier this week, the table sent a similar letter to Representative Scott Perry (R-PA), after it said members received information from witnesses “to force Representative Perry” on January 6, including evidence demonstrating “his participation in the appointed former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark as Attorney General.”

AJ McDougall contributed to this story.