Auxiliary Texts Reveal Role Played By Sen. Ron Johnson In Pushing Trump S Fake Voters

The committee showed text messages sent by Johnson’s assistant Sean Riley to Pence’s assistant, Chris Hodgson, saying Johnson “should give something to VPOTUS, please let me know.” “What is this?” Hodgson asked. “Alternate ballot papers for MI and WI because the registrar did not receive them,” Riley replied. “Don’t give it to him,” Hodgson said. After the hearing, Johnson told CNN that he “had no idea” who tried to get him to share the fake voters from Michigan and Wisconsin with Pence, but acknowledged that he knew the question on the morning of January 6, 2021. “I knew we got this package and that someone wanted to deliver it, so we contacted Pence’s office,” he said. Leaving the Capitol later Tuesday, Johnson revealed that a House official had handed him over to his office, but said he did not know which office the employee was from and was not interested in finding out. “We did not know – literally not – it was staff for staff – someone from the House, someone practicing, you know, said we understood, the vice president needs this or whatever. They are not involved,” Johnson said. I know what they said. But … someone in the House handed it to a staff member in my office. My chief of staff called the vice president, “Well, we got it.” “And the vice president said, ‘Do not hand it over, and we did not do it.’ Asked if he wanted to know who sent it, he said, “No. No, because there is no conspiracy here. This is a completely non-story, guys. A complete non-story.” However, he later said that he had asked his staff about it when the news broke and “no one knows” who sent it. Messages between the aides, which have not been previously revealed, show that Johnson was playing a role in trying to nominate “fake” Trump voters who had not been certified by any legislature.
The messages were exchanged shortly after 12:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 6, according to the committee, just minutes before Pence addressed a joint congressional hearing at 1:00 p.m. ET – and rioters began breaking into the Capitol to disrupt the certification. Chairman Bennie Thompson says the commission “has not yet” contacted Johnson amid revelations of his involvement in the rigged election. “The committee has not made a decision” on whether to invite him to testify, Thompson said. Asked if the fake election plan was criminal, the Mississippi Democrat said: “We are just presenting the facts.” CNN’s Manu Raju and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.

title: “Auxiliary Texts Reveal Role Played By Sen. Ron Johnson In Pushing Trump S Fake Voters " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-12” author: “William Gallaway”

The committee showed text messages sent by Johnson’s assistant Sean Riley to Pence’s assistant, Chris Hodgson, saying Johnson “should give something to VPOTUS, please let me know.” “What is this?” Hodgson asked. “Alternate ballot papers for MI and WI because the registrar did not receive them,” Riley replied. “Don’t give it to him,” Hodgson said. After the hearing, Johnson told CNN that he “had no idea” who tried to get him to share the fake voters from Michigan and Wisconsin with Pence, but acknowledged that he knew the question on the morning of January 6, 2021. “I knew we got this package and that someone wanted to deliver it, so we contacted Pence’s office,” he said. Leaving the Capitol later Tuesday, Johnson revealed that a House official had handed him over to his office, but said he did not know which office the employee was from and was not interested in finding out. “We did not know – literally not – it was staff for staff – someone from the House, someone practicing, you know, said we understood, the vice president needs this or whatever. They are not involved,” Johnson said. I know what they said. But … someone in the House handed it to a staff member in my office. My chief of staff called the vice president, “Well, we got it.” “And the vice president said, ‘Do not hand it over, and we did not do it.’ Asked if he wanted to know who sent it, he said, “No. No, because there is no conspiracy here. This is a completely non-story, guys. A complete non-story.” However, he later said that he had asked his staff about it when the news broke and “no one knows” who sent it. Messages between the aides, which have not been previously revealed, show that Johnson was playing a role in trying to nominate “fake” Trump voters who had not been certified by any legislature.
The messages were exchanged shortly after 12:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 6, according to the committee, just minutes before Pence addressed a joint congressional hearing at 1:00 p.m. ET – and rioters began breaking into the Capitol to disrupt the certification. Chairman Bennie Thompson says the commission “has not yet” contacted Johnson amid revelations of his involvement in the rigged election. “The committee has not made a decision” on whether to invite him to testify, Thompson said. Asked if the fake election plan was criminal, the Mississippi Democrat said: “We are just presenting the facts.” CNN’s Manu Raju and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.