Sen Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told reporters last week he "had no hand" in an effort to deliver illegitimate "alternate" Electoral College ballots to former Mike President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021. Now he says he coordinated the attempted delivery with a Wisconsin attorney and was given the fake electors by Rep. Mike Kelly's (R-Pa.) office, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Kelly's spokesman called Johnson's allegation "patently false."
Former President Donald Trump's campaign, the House Jan. 6 committee has detailed, wanted Pence to use the fake Trump electors to halt or at least delay certifying President Biden's electoral victory and eventually hand the election to Trump.
Johnson originally responded to released text messages by saying the attempt to hand Pence "alternate slates of electors" for Michigan and Wisconsin was handled at the staff level and he didn't know what was in the packet for Pence or which "staff intern" had delivered it.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Thursday, Johnson told conservative Wisconsin radio host Vicki McKenna he got a text from Jim Troupis, a Trump campaign lawyer in Wisconsin, on Jan. 6: "Need to get a document on Wisconsin electors to you and the VP immediately." He said he passed the message from Troupis to his chief of staff.
Johnson told McKenna "we found out now" the package came from Kelly's office, but at the time, "we didn't know what it was. We thought it was documents involved in the electors. Once we got it — again, I didn't know this, I was probably already in the Senate — they found out they were the alternate slates of electors, but not only from Wisconsin but also from Michigan, which is, you know, still odd." Johnson's spokeswoman later suggested they know of Kelly's alleged involvement from "independent reporting" by conservative journalist John Solomon.
"What still doesn't make sense," Politico notes, is that "senators are normally assumed to be judicious in what they pass along to the executive branch, but Johnson is essentially alleging that his staff attempted to pass on the document from Kelly to Pence without any vetting."
Stephen Colbert expressed similar doubts that Johnson was "just a delivery boy" on Wednesday's Late Show: "You know those announcements in the airport when they say, 'Do not carry onto the flight a package for someone you don't know'? I've always wondered who those announcements are for. Turns out, it's Ron Johnson."
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rulesSpeed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Actspeed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in VenezuelaSpeed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young RepublicansSpeed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votesspeed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections
-
News organizations reject Pentagon restrictionsSpeed Read The proposed policy is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest move to limit press access at the Pentagon
-
Trump declares end to Gaza war, ‘dawn’ of new MideastSpeed Read Hamas freed the final 20 living Israeli hostages and Israel released thousands of Palestinian detainees
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia JamesSpeed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
