Testy Sen. Ron Johnson Claims He Was Only Involved In Fake Electors Plot For 'Seconds'
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Extremist Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) snapped at a local reporter that he was only involved in Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 plot to overturn the presidential election with fake electors for a “couple of seconds.”
Johnson, trailing in the polls against Democratic rival state Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, suddenly appears to be backpedaling as fast as he can from his former slavish devotion to Trump and false claims of a rigged presidential election.
Johnson was asked Friday by journalist Matt Smith from Milwaukee ABC affiliate WISN if he would testify about the fake electors plot before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Johnson has acknowledged he was asked to pass an envelope with a slate of fake electors to then-Vice President Mike Pence, but claimed he had absolutely no idea what was going on.
“I had virtually no involvement,” the testy senator responded. “Literally, my involvement lasted seconds, OK?”
Any hint of wrongdoing in the fake elector plot is a “grotesque distortion,” he added.
“I had nothing to do with the alternate slate. I had no idea that anybody was going to ask me to deliver those,” Johnson said. “My involvement in that attempt to deliver spanned the course of a couple of seconds ... I knew nothing about it.”
The slate of electors was never delivered because Pence’s staff said it wasn’t wanted, according to Johnson.
Ron Johnson won't testify to the Jan. 6 Committee because he only plotted to overthrow the election for "a couple seconds."
"I had virtually no involvement!" he said. "Literally, my involvement lasted seconds. OK?" pic.twitter.com/vsTZSCqkYj— David Edwards (@DavidEdwards) August 21, 2022
Early this summer, Johnson pretended to take a nonexistent phone call when reporters peppered him with questions about the slate of fake Wisconsin electors.
“I’m on the phone,” Johnson snapped at the time.
“No, you’re not,” the reporter fired back. “I can see your screen.”
The goof became a bit on Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show.”
After the Jan. 6 riot, Johnson in a radio program interview defended the Capitol rioters as “peaceful” — even after millions of Americans watched the violence on live TV.
“I knew those are people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, so I wasn’t concerned,” Johnson said on “The Joe Pags Show.”
Almost 850 people have been charged with crimes in the storming of the Capitol. Johnson said he would have been “concerned” had the rioters been Black Lives Matter protesters.
Blatant racism from @RonJohnsonWI here. He says he wasn’t worried on 1/6 because the majority-white insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol “love this country,” but says if they were Black Lives Matter protestors he would’ve been concerned for his safety. #WISenpic.twitter.com/V3gm4cLw8v
— American Bridge 21st Century (@American_Bridge) March 12, 2021
Johnson, the most vulnerable Senate Republican in this year’s election, appears to be among extremist GOP candidates struggling against Democrats in November, at least in swing states. The senator himself appears to think his previous slavish devotion to Trump may no longer serve him.
“My election’s about me running as a U.S. senator dealing with issues that are impacting Wisconsinites,” Johnson said on WISN’s ’Upfront” program, produced with WisPolitics.com.
“I don’t personally think Trump should have any impact whatsoever on this election in November 2022,” Johnson said.
"I don't personally think Trump should have any impact whatsoever on this election in November 2022," Sen. Ron Johnson said during an interview today about his re-election bid
Much more Sunday morning on UPFRONT -- we're on the campaign trail with Sen. Ron Johnson @WISN12Newspic.twitter.com/sNdlS6TbkR— Matt Smith (@mattsmith_news) August 19, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
