Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) Tried to provide fake election papers to then Vice President Mike Pence before he could confirm the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to text messages released by Congressional investigators. at a hearing on Tuesday. .
Johnson’s chief of staff, Sean Riley, contacted Pence employee Chris Hodgson and said the senator wanted to “give something” to Pence. When Hodgson asked what it was, Riley replied, “Alternate voter paper [Michigan] At [Wisconsin] Because the archivist did not receive them ».
“Don’t give it to him,” Hodgson replied.
When then -President Donald Trump tried to deny Joe Biden’s election victory, his team asked supporters to falsely say they were state voters and sign fake ballots that would lead to election fraud. The strategy aims to prevent Pence from verifying the actual Electoral College result on January 6, 2021.
At the fourth public hearing, a congressional committee investigating Trump’s attack on the U.S. Capitol that day released text messages between Riley and Hodgson and an additional message from a Republican official.
In a message on Jan. 4, Mark Jefferson, chief executive of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, wrote, “Trump’s mad idiots want someone to distribute the original ballots to the Senate president.”
The revelation that Johnson is trying to vote for Pence creates a clear link between the senator and the campaign to cancel the 2020 election. And it highlights the public and private ways in which prominent Republicans have supported Trump’s efforts. to disobey. to the voters and retain power, while at the same time sparking the anger that led to the attack on the Capitol.
Johnson was not one of 139 Republican lawmakers who voted to defend Trump’s election fraud. However, it was hosted in December 2020 to hear where Trump’s allies spent a lot of time spreading conspiracy theories about last month’s elections.
About it soon, Johnson’s spokesman said Alexa Henning wrote on Twitter“The senator did not participate in making the list of alternative voters and no prior knowledge will be delivered to our office.
“The vice president said they did not give and we did not give. No further action. The end of the story, ”Henning continued. Senator later He told her He told reporters he learned on the morning of Jan. 6 that “someone” had delivered fake ballots to his office, but denied he was trying to intimidate pro-Trump voters.
“I do not know [the source]. “I have no idea,” Johnson said. “It was a staff exchange and I almost didn’t know it. The chief of staff contacted the vice president’s staff and said, would you like it?” They said no, we didn’t deliver, and that’s the end of the story. “
Johnson is currently running for re -election in Wisconsin.
One of his potential rivals, Democratic Deputy Governor candidate Mandela Barnes, issued a statement on Johnson’s actions on Tuesday afternoon.
“Ron Johnson actively sought to undermine this democracy,” Barnes said. “Ron Johnson has once again shown that he is a threat to our country and our fundamental rights. I urge him to resign immediately.”
Igor Bobich was involved in the relationship.
Correction: An earlier version of this article referred to Tuesday’s hearing as the commission’s third public hearing on Jan. 6; This is the fourth.
Source: Huffpost
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