Ron Johnson Claims ‘Virtually No Involvement’ in Plot to Overthrow Election During Bizarre Interview: ‘Literally, My Involvement Lasted Seconds’
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) announced his refusal to willingly testify before the January 6 Committee, claiming he only had “a couple seconds” where he was involved in attempts to subvert the results of the 2020 election.
WISN 12’s Matt Smith interviewed Johnson over the weekend as the senator campaigned for re-election. As the two ran through a myriad of issues, Smith asked Johnson if he would testify if the January 6th Committee asked him to when it resumes hearings next month.
“No. I have nothing to do with January 6,” Johnson answered. When the senator hypothetically asked what the committee might ask him about, Smith responded with “the Republican electors.”
Smith was presumably referring to the committee’s revelation of text messages that Johnson’s chief-of-staff, Sean Riley, sent to former Mike Pence assistant Chris Hodgson shortly before January 6. Riley was attempting to ask Hodgson how his boss could provide fake electors to Pence before the former vice president arrived at the U.S. Capitol to fulfill his role during Congress’ certification of the election results.
Hodgson rejected the alternative electors, and Pence defied Donald Trump’s wishes to throw out the results establishing the ex-president’s 2020 election defeat. The uncovering of the texts caused a great deal of media scrutiny for Johnson, who attempted to dodge reporters, claimed non-involvement, and blamed an unnamed intern for the scandalous development.
Johnson glossed over all of this — calling the matter “a grotesque distortion,” and claiming he had “nothing to do with the alternate slate.”
“I had no idea anyone was gonna ask me to deliver those. My involvement in that attempt to deliver spanned the course of a couple seconds,” Johnson claimed. “I think I fielded three texts, and sent two, and talked to my chief of staff that somebody wants me to deliver something. I knew nothing about it, and in the end, those elections were not delivered because we found out from the vice president’s staff they did not want them delivered. End of story.”
Johnson went on to complain that the Committee concocted a “massive conspiracy” by supposedly blowing the text messages “out of proportion.”
“I had virtually no involvement,” he said. “My involvement lasted seconds.”
Watch above, via WISN12.
