
Rep. Jim Jordan faces deposition about OSU sex abuse scandal
Jordan, who was the assistant wrestling coach at the university from 1986 to 1994 before he got into politics, has repeatedly and publicly denied any knowledge that the team's doctor, Richard Strauss, was preying on the athletes.
It will be the first time Jordan has be questioned under oath by lawyers representing hundreds of former OSU students, both athletes and nonathletes, who are suing the school for damages in federal court in the Southern District of Ohio. Jordan is not a defendant, but he is referred to in some of the lawsuits alleging he was aware of the abuse.
Jordan, the powerful chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, is known for his combative questioning of witnesses and for avoiding suit jackets during it.
Reached for comment, Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye released a variation of the statement Jordan's team has been using since July 2018, when three former OSU wrestlers told NBC News that Jordan was lying when he claimed he did not know that Strauss molested them under the guise of giving physical examinations.
'As everyone knows, Chairman Jordan never saw or heard of any abuse, and if he had, he would have dealt with it,' the statement said.
Mike DiSabato, who wrestled for Jordan and was the first former OSU student who publicly accused him of having turned a blind eye to the abuse Strauss inflicted on him and his teammates, said he does not expect Jordan to say any more than he already has.
'I assume he's going to triple down and follow the same script he followed back in 2018 when he went on Fox and denied knowing about any abuse, denied being told of any abuse, never heard the word 'abuse,'' DiSabato said.
DiSabato was referring to an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier in which Jordan also insisted that he did not hear any locker room banter about Strauss.
Still, said DiSabato, who previously reached a settlement with OSU, he hopes Jordan 'will finally come out and admit that he knew Strauss was doing unnecessary prostate exams, doing unnecessary genital exams, taking multiple showers with athletes, all while being employed by a university funded by the state of Ohio.'
Jordan will sit down for a deposition about a month after the release of an HBO Max documentary about the Strauss scandal called ' Surviving Ohio State,' in which one of the wrestlers he once coached flat-out called him a liar.
Another Strauss survivor, Steve Snyder-Hill, said he will watch the deposition Friday at his lawyer's office in Columbus. While he is not a former athlete, Snyder-Hill is one of the former OSU students suing the university.
'I expect him to lie under oath,' Snyder-Hill said. 'I don't know a nicer way to put it.'
Snyder-Hill said Strauss abused him at a campus clinic in 1995. He said that what the doctor was alleged to have been doing to young men under the guise of giving physical examinations eventually became an open secret throughout campus, extending beyond the athletes' locker rooms.
'Jordan had a locker two down from Strauss, and Jordan claims he didn't know?' Snyder-Hill said. 'That's hard to believe.'
Strauss, who died in 2005, worked at OSU from 1978 through 1998.
Prompted by allegations from DiSabato and other former OSU wrestlers, the university agreed to an independent investigation by the Perkins Coie law firm, which concluded in 2019 that coaches and athletic administrators knew for two decades that Strauss was molesting male athletes and other students but failed to sound the alarm or stop him.
Jordan's former communications director, Ian Fury, insisted in 2019 that the report absolved Jordan. All of the coaches and administrators' names were redacted in the version of the report released to the public.
Fury cited as proof a line in the report that said investigators 'did not identify any other contemporaneous documentary evidence indicating that members of the OSU coaching staff, including head coaches or assistant coaches, received or were aware of complaints regarding Strauss' sexual misconduct.'
Since the release of the report, OSU has said it has paid out $60 million in settlement money and its former president has publicly apologized 'to each person who endured' abuse at the hands of Strauss.
Several of the lawsuits mention Jordan by name.
Still facing at least five active lawsuits from 236 men alleging Strauss molested them, too, OSU, which had apologized to Strauss' victims and had reported in 2019 that Strauss committed 1,429 sexual assaults and 47 rapes, walked back its previous position in October 2023 and denied having admitted any wrongdoing. The settlements it paid out were without admission of liability and were reached through mediation.
OSU also argued that the statute of limitations in the case against it had run out.
But in June 2023, the Supreme Court refused to reconsider a lower court ruling that said former students should be allowed to sue OSU, paving the way for their lawyers to question Jordan and other OSU employees about Strauss.
Former Athletic Director Andy Geiger was deposed Wednesday, NBC affiliate WCMH of Columbus reported. Some of the lawsuits refer to Geiger as one of several people whom student-athletes allege they told about the abuse when it was happening.
'We plan to depose every OSU employee alleged to have known about Strauss' abuse, including the employees named in the complaints,' Adele Kimmel, director of the Public Justice Students' Civil Rights Project, said in June 2023.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
UK working with Jordan to air drop aid into Gaza, PM tells Macron and Merz
The UK is working with Jordan on plans to air drop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance, Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed in a call with French and German counterparts. The Prime Minister held emergency talks with Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz on Saturday amid mounting global anger at the humanitarian conditions in the enclave. In a readout of the call, Number 10 said the leaders had agreed 'it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently-needed ceasefire into lasting peace'. 'The Prime Minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance,' a Downing Street spokesperson said. However, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency warned airdrops were 'a distraction and screensmoke' that would fail to reverse deepening starvation in Gaza, and could in some cases harm civilians. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Saturday: 'A man-made hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.' Israel said on Friday it will allow airdrops of aid by foreign countries into Gaza to alleviate starvation in the Palestinian territory, where there is widespread devastation. The readout made no mention of the issue of Palestinian statehood, which the Prime Minister has faced calls to immediately recognise after French President Mr Macron confirmed his country would do so in September. However, Downing Street said the leaders had committed to 'work closely together on a plan' to 'pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region'. Once the proposals have been 'worked up', they will seek to advance them with other key partners, including in the region, the readout said. Some 221 MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents have signed a letter pressuring the Government to follow suit at a UN meeting next week. Donald Trump suggested Mr Macron's announcement, which saw him commit to formally recognising Palestinian sovereignty at the UN General Assembly in September, 'doesn't matter' as he left the US for a visit to Scotland. Sarah Champion, the senior Labour MP who organised the letter by parliamentarians, said recognition 'would send a powerful symbolic message that we support the rights of the Palestinian people'. Other senior Commons figures who signed the letter include Labour select committee chairs Liam Byrne, Dame Emily Thornberry and Ruth Cadbury. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, as well as Tory former minister Kit Malthouse, and Sir Edward Leigh – Parliament's longest-serving MP – also signed it. The majority of those who have signed, 131, are Labour MPs. The Government has so far said its immediate focus is on getting aid into the territory and insisted that recognising sovereignty must be done as part of a peace process. Charities operating in Gaza have said Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing people there towards starvation, warning that they are seeing their own workers and Palestinians 'waste away'. But Mr Lazzarini said air drops can be dangerous as they can fall on top of civilians, and that being able to drive aid through is more effective and safer. 'Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians,' he said. 'It is a distraction and screensmoke.' The Prime Minister will meet the US president during his trip to Scotland, where he arrived on Friday evening. US-led peace talks in Qatar were cut short on Thursday, with Washington's special envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce.


The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
UK working with Jordan to air drop aid into Gaza
The UK is collaborating with Jordan on plans to air drop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance, as announced by Sir Keir Starmer. The UN has criticised aid air drops as inefficient and a 'distraction,' advocating instead for land routes to deliver aid more effectively and safely into Gaza. The Prime Minister held emergency talks with French and German leaders, agreeing on the 'appalling' situation in Gaza and the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted aid delivery. Al-Shifa Hospital reported five deaths in Gaza due to famine and malnutrition in the past day, with Palestinian health officials also stating 25 people were killed by Israeli actions, many while waiting for aid. Gaza's Government Media Office warned of an 'unprecedented humanitarian disaster,' particularly for 100,000 children at risk, while US-led peace talks for a ceasefire and hostage exchange were cut short.


Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
UK is working with Jordan on plan to air drop aid into Gaza, Starmer tells France and Germany
Keir Starmer has confirmed the UK is working with Jordan on plans to air drop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance. The Prime Minister held emergency talks with his French and German counterparts on Saturday amid mounting global anger at the humanitarian conditions in the enclave where thousands of people are facing famine. During the call this morning, Starmer told Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz that it is 'vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently-needed ceasefire into lasting peace'. 'The Prime Minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance,' a Downing Street spokesperson said. The emergency meeting took place just hours after hundreds of people gathered in Whitehall on Friday to protest against the starvation of Palestinians by Israel. The 'Stop Starving Gaza Protest', organised by the Stop The War Coalition, saw a wave of protesters armed with pots, pans and other objects descend on Downing Street to place pressure on the Government to act. Sir Keir had earlier condemned the 'appalling' and 'unrelenting' conditions in Gaza where around 90,000 women and children are suffering from malnutrition, according to humanitarian organization the World Food Programme. 'The continued captivity of hostages, the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel's disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible,' he added. Israel said on Friday it would allow airdrops of aid by foreign countries into Gaza to alleviate starvation in the Palestinian territory, where there is widespread devastation. However, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency warned airdrops were 'a distraction and a smokescreen' that would fail to reverse deepening starvation in Gaza, and could in some cases harm civilians. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Saturday: 'A man-made hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.' The readout of today's meeting made no mention of the issue of Palestinian statehood, which the Prime Minister has faced calls to immediately recognise after French President Mr Macron confirmed his country would do so in September. However, Downing Street said the leaders had committed to 'work closely together on a plan' to 'pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region'. Once the proposals have been 'worked up', they will seek to advance them with other key partners, including in the region, the readout said. Some 221 MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents have signed a letter pressuring the Government to recognise a Palestinian state. Donald Trump suggested Mr Macron's announcement, which saw him commit to formally recognising Palestinian sovereignty at the UN General Assembly in September, 'doesn't matter' as he left the US for a visit to Scotland. Sarah Champion, the senior Labour MP who organised the letter by parliamentarians, said recognition 'would send a powerful symbolic message that we support the rights of the Palestinian people'. Other senior Commons figures who signed the letter include Labour select committee chairs Liam Byrne, Dame Emily Thornberry and Ruth Cadbury. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, as well as Tory former minister Kit Malthouse, and Sir Edward Leigh - Parliament's longest-serving MP - also signed it. The majority of those who have signed, 131, are Labour MPs. The Government has so far said its immediate focus is on getting aid into the territory and insisted that recognising sovereignty must be done as part of a peace process. Charities operating in Gaza have said Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing people there towards starvation, warning that they are seeing their own workers and Palestinians 'waste away'. The Prime Minister will meet the US president during his trip to Scotland, where he arrived on Friday evening. US-led peace talks in Qatar were cut short on Thursday, with Washington's special envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.