Let’s give Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) points for creativity. When the Washington Post contacted Johnson regarding a contact last year from the FBI warning the senator about Russia attempting to influence the election, Johnson confirmed it:
“Regarding reports that I received an FBI briefing warning me that I was a target of Russian disinformation, I can confirm I received such a briefing in August of 2020,” Johnson said in a statement to The Washington Post. “I asked the briefers what specific evidence they had regarding this warning, and they could not provide me anything other than the generalized warning. Without specific information, I felt the briefing was completely useless and unnecessary (since I was fully aware of the dangers of Russian disinformation).
“Because there was no substance to the briefing, and because it followed the production and leaking of a false intelligence product by Democrat leaders, I suspected that the briefing was being given to be used at some future date for the purpose that it is now being used: to offer the biased media an opportunity to falsely accuse me of being a tool of Russia despite warnings.”
Imagine the foresight the FBI must have had. They decided last August, nine months ago, that they would embarrass Johnson sometime in the future by giving him a warning about Russian influence on the election. What a gestation period for such a conspiracy. Nine months! Not before the election. Not when Johnson was holding his ridiculous hearings on Hunter Biden. Not when Johnson was holding his ridiculous hearings on the non-existent theft of the 2020 presidential election. Not when Johnson said he was going to vote decertify several states’ election results (including Wisconsin). Not when Johnson praised the January 6 rioters as people who loved America and the police.
The FBI waited until now, when almost nothing else was going on, to embarrass Johnson. When the entire state of Wisconsin is distracted by Aaron Rodgers, that’s when the FBI decided it was the right time. Yep, great timing.
You see the deviousness of the plan, right? They could have waited even longer, perhaps when Johnson announced his re-election intentions. Or they could have waited until the next time Johnson said something stupid about Ukraine and Russia, like when he said he believed former National Security Advisor John Bolton but he also believed President Donald Trump when he said aid to Ukraine was not tied to Giuliani’s investigation of Hunter Biden. Or when Johnson decides to endorse Trump for president again.
But, no. Nine months was long enough for the conspiracy against Johnson to give birth. Just in time for May Day, which we all know is a Communist holiday.
Of course, for the FBI’s conspiracy to work, the agents had to know that Johnson would say that he ignored the warning when asked. Because if Johnson says something like, yes, I took the warning seriously, then Johnson wouldn’t be embarrassed, right? No, he has to look like he deliberately ignored a warning about Russia in order to look like “a Russian tool” as Johnson said. Conveniently, they knew the senator really well and he fell right into the trap!
Fortunately for the senator, the Wall Street Journal editorial board and the Trump propaganda website The Federalist are willing to give Johnson support for his conspiracy theory even when the only “evidence” of such a far-sighted plan by the FBI is Johnson’s own statement. Too bad neither publication has asked Johnson what other ticking intelligence time bombs are out there waiting for him to put his foot in his mouth again.
It’s like waiting for Wile E. Coyote to get flattened by the anvil that he ordered from Acme. But Wile E. didn’t have the benefit of defenders willing to blame the Roadrunner for the coyote’s stupidity. Correction – super genius.
