Ron Johnson is quickly putting himself in danger for this year’s election. From spreading 2020 election propaganda to circulating misinformation about COVID-19, he has now made headlines for claiming his involvement in the Jan. 6 plot to overtake the 2020 election by submitting slates of fake electors to Congress only lasted “a couple seconds.”
The comments came in an interview with ABC News affiliate WISN-TV 12 News while Johnson was on the campaign trail this weekend to hold his Wisconsin seat. When asked if he would testify to the Jan. 6 select committee if called to do so, he replied: “No. I had nothing to do with 6 January. What would they ask me to testify about?”
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The interviewer then pressed him on the scheme to give then-Vice President Mike Pence fake slates of electors from crucial swing states, including Wisconsin, during the certification. While Johnson dismissed the idea that he had anything to do with this plot as a “grotesque distortion,” he did seem to confirm that he was briefly involved.
“I had nothing to do with the alternate slate,” Johnson said. “I had no idea that anybody was going to ask me to deliver those. My involvement in the attempt to deliver spanned the course of a couple seconds.
“I think I fielded three texts and sent two and talked to my chief of staff that somebody wants you to deliver something.’’ He added: "Yeah, I knew nothing about it. And in the end, those electors were not delivered because we found out from the vice president's staff they didn't want them delivered. End of story."
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The questions follow the Jan. 6 select committee hearings in which screened texts showing Johnson’s chief of staff, Sean Riley, texting one of Pence’s senior staff that “Johnson needs to hand something to VPOTUS,” specifying that the “something” in question is “Alternate slate of electors for MI and WI because archivist didn’t receive them.”
When approached by reporters asking questions about these texts after the hearing, Johnson initially pretended to be on the phone, but then claimed no involvement.
“I was aware that we got something delivered that wanted to be delivered to the VP, I mean guys this, this took place in, I don’t know, the span of a few minutes. And the story ended. There’s nothing to this.”
According to Business Insider, Johnson also claimed he got the fake electors from the office of Republican Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.
In addition to admitting his involvement in schemes to overturn the election, Johnson also told WISN-TV 12 that he believes a bill protecting the right to marriage equality is “completely unnecessary.”
Johnson’s ratings are dropping and we are here for it. It’ll be some exciting news when he is out of the Senate.
