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Who is Jim Jordan? The chief defender in public impeachment hearings against President Trump?

Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican congressman, has become the attention-grabbing chief defender of President Trump in the ongoing impeachment inquiry.

During the hearings, in which Democratic lawmakers accuse Trump breaking the law by pressuring his Ukraine counterpart to dig up dirt on his political rival former Vice President Joe Biden, Jordan has repeatedly attempted to undermine the authority of witnesses, including top diplomats and State Department officials.

“And you’re their star witness?” Jordan said after firing a series of questions at William Taylor, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, prompting the top diplomat to say that he had never met the president, and his information was second-handed. “I’ve seen church prayer chains that are easier to understand than this,” Jordan continued.

Watch the interaction between Rep. Jim Jordan and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor

With more witnesses scheduled to appear in front of the House Intelligence Committee, there is no doubt that the Ohio representative will double down his attacks and continue to make headlines. Here is what you need to know about the congressman:

Jordan is tasked with pushing Republicans’ narratives on the Ukraine story

The New York Times has reported that Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, put Jordan on the intelligence panel at the last minute. McCarthy said in a tweet that Jordan “will continue fighting for fairness and truth.”

Jordan dismissed the allegations that Trump abused his power. He refuted Taylor’s testimony, in which the former ambassador said it was his “clear understanding” that Ukraine would not receive military aid, nearly $400 million, from the U.S. until President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine announced the investigations against the Bidens. That is the central argument Democrats base their impeachment efforts on. Jordan said Zenlensky never made the announcement and that the aid was later released.

However, he failed to mention that Trump released the aid after lawmakers pressured him to do so.

In his latest interview with “Face the Nation,” Jordan portrayed the delay of the aid as a part of the vetting process of President Zelensky and Ukraine, which is “one of three most corrupt countries on the planet.”

You can watch Jordan’s full interview with “Face the Nation” here

Despite stalwart defenses, he refused to say if Trump’s call for China to investigate Biden family appropriate

During an ABC interview in early October, he dodged the question when asked if Trump’s call for China to investigate Biden was inappropriate. Trump was caught on camera on October 3 saying that China should investigate Joe Biden, who is likely to become the Democratic opponent in the upcoming presidential election.

“You really think he was serious about thinking that China is going to investigate the Biden family?” Jordan said after being pressed several times. “I don’t think anyone in America really believes, except people in the press or some Democrats in Congress, really believe that the president of the United States thinks China is going to investigate.”

You can watch Jordan’s full interview with ABC News here

At home, Jordan is accused to have ignored complaints about sexual misconducts at Ohio State

Days before the first public impeachment hearing, more allegations emerged that Jordan turned a blind eye on sexual misconduct during his tenure as a wrestling coach at the Ohio State University.

A referee said in a lawsuit filed earlier this month that the team doctor Richard Strauss masturbated in front of him in a shower after a match in 1994. He said he reported the incident to Jordan and then-head coach Russ Hellickson, but they dismissed the allegation.

Eight former wrestlers have also claimed that Jordan knew about the allegations but failed to act, NBC reported.

Independent investigations have found that Strauss sexually abused 177 male students over two decades.  

Jordan has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Strauss’s misconduct and called the allegations against him “ridiculous.”

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Chinese photojournalists rank top 3 in the World

The 2015 World Press Photo (WPP) Awards was particularly fond of China this year, as Chinese photojournalists took home a whopping 6 awards. There were a total of 42 winners from the various categories in this year’s most prestigious international visual journalism awards show.

According to a WPP press release, there were nearly 5,700 photographers from 130 nationalities participating and they submitted more than 95,000 pictures.

The winning photos from China mainly focused on topics including the nation’s contemporary social issues, nature and pollution. Chen Ronghui was a second-place prize winner who created the photo series Christmas Factory, which became a viral hit last year.

The Christmas Factory portrayed young workers who work in unhealthy conditions. The employees make Christmas decorations while dangerously inhaling the red toxic powder used to make the decorations.

Other photographers from China managed to win first-place prizes in categories of sports, nature and daily life, leaving China to rank #3 among the countries with the most winners, after Italy and the U.S.