Tag: Ron Johnson

GOP chairmen stake out turf in Obama-era probes

The Hill logoGOP chairmen are carving out their turf in controversial probes stemming from the Obama administration.

Senate Republicans are set to escalate their investigations on Thursday, when two panels will vote on dueling subpoenas that have significant areas of overlap.

But Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)—who chair the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees, respectively — say they are trying to avoid a jurisdictional fight as they prepare to do a deep dive into decisions stemming from the Obama era.  Continue reading.

Opposing Relief Bill, GOP Sen. Ron Johnson Shrugs Off COVID-19 Deaths

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) tried to downplay how bad the impact of the novel coronavirus will be, and in the process showed his science skills are not up to speed.

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, he suggested that the social distancing measures being taken to stop the spread of the virus are overblown.

“I’m sure the deaths are horrific … I’m not denying what a nasty disease COVID-19 can be, and how it’s obviously devastating to somewhere between 1 and 3.4 percent of the population,” Johnson told the Journal Sentinel. Continue reading.

Conservatives Worry Too Much Coronavirus Relief Will Make People Lazy

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) says he’s worried about “incentivizing people to not show up for work.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is concerned that if the federal government steps in too much to help workers affected by the coronavirus crisis, it will make people lazy.

The House has passed legislation that would offer paid leave for some workers if they or their families are affected by COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Johnson, in comments in USA Today on Monday, said he was worried about “incentivizing people to not show up for work.” Continue reading.

GOP chairman cancels Hunter Biden-related subpoena vote

The Hill logoSenate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) canceled a vote scheduled for Wednesday afternoon on a subpoena stemming from his months-long probe into Hunter Biden and Burisma Holdings.

“Out of an abundance of caution, and to allow time for you to receive additional briefings, I will postpone a vote to subpoena records and an appearance from former Blue Star Strategies consultant Andrii Telizhenko about his work for the lobbying firm,” Johnson said in a
note to committee members, a copy of which was obtained by The Hill.

Johnson told reporters that he was pulling the vote because of “some discrepancies brought up in what we had been told.” Continue reading.

Senate Republicans Suddenly Call For New Biden Probe

A top GOP senator on Sunday announced new actions in a Republican-led investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter — less than 24 hours after the elder Biden’s primary victory in South Carolina.

According to CBS News, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) sent a letter to his colleagues on Sunday, saying he wanted to subpoena witnesses related to Hunter Biden’s role at the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

Johnson, chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) initially launched the investigation in November to back up Donald Trump at the height of his impeachment inquiry. Continue reading.

GOP duo moves ahead with Biden investigation

The Hill logoA pair of influential GOP Senate chairmen are plowing ahead with a wide-ranging probe related to the Bidens and Ukraine, sparking a new round of tensions..

With the months-long impeachment fight in the rearview mirror, Republicans are hoping to speed up their investigation, which has included document requests related to work done by former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden for Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), one of the two GOP chairmen involved in the investigation, said he hoped the end of the impeachment trial would break the “logjam” on their requests for information. Continue reading.

Now Senate Republicans Resume Probe Of…Clinton Emails

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) turned his attention back to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s years-old emails this week, the same day he voted to acquit Donald Trump on two articles of impeachment.

On Wednesday, Johnson sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanding more information about a 2019 State Department investigation that exonerated Clinton of wrongdoing.

In his letter, Johnson, who was first elected in 2010, said he had been investigating Clinton’s emails for almost five years and was determined to continue that work. Continue reading.

Treasury Department Hands Over Hunter Biden Info After Withholding Trump’s Tax Records

The impeachment trial is over, but Senate Republicans are pressing forward with an investigation into the Bidens

WASHINGTON ― The Treasury Department has given congressional Republicans sensitive financial information related to Hunter Biden after having refused to give Democrats President Donald Trump’s tax returns.

Yahoo News first reported Thursday that the Treasury Department handed over highly confidential information in response to a November request from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) for suspicious activity reports filed with the department by financial institutions.

Last year, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin blocked a Democratic request for the president’s tax filings, saying Democrats had no legitimate legislative purpose for seeking the documents.

 

Sen. Johnson says whistleblower’s sources ‘exposed things that didn’t need to be exposed’

Washington Post logoSen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said Sunday that the Trump administration officials who provided information to the anonymous whistleblower about the president’s efforts to pressure Ukraine “exposed things that didn’t need to be exposed.”

“This would have been far better off if we would’ve just taken care of this behind the scenes,” Johnson said in an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.” “We have two branches of government. Most people, most people wanted to support Ukraine. We were trying to convince President Trump.”

Johnson’s comments come days after the first public hearings in the impeachment inquiry. Democrats are seeking to prove that Trump leveraged military assistance and an Oval Office meeting in exchange for investigations into former vice president Joe Biden and a debunked theory concerning purported Ukrainian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

View the complete November 17 article by Felicia Sonmez, Karoun Demirjian and Douglas MacMillan on The Washington Post website here.

GOP Sens. Ron Johnson and Marsha Blackburn are tied to Russian money and Trump conspiracy theories. They’re not alone

AlterNet logoNancy Pelosi has announced that the House will finally hold a formal vote dictating the rules for the impeachment inquiry, six weeks after it was launched by a whistleblower’s complaint mysteriously withheld from Congress. And on Tuesday, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman backed up both the initial whistleblower and U.S. diplomat Bill Taylor by testifying that he too was concerned about the Trump administration’s push to use congressionally-allocated military aid to Ukraine to coerce an investigation into Joe Biden.

Congressional Republicans have long since stopped defending Trump on the merits since shortly after the White House released a transcript of a July call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Instead, they’ve sought refuge in increasingly meaningless process arguments. So of course Pelosi agreeing to a formal vote on the rules of impeachment hasn’t stopped Republican complaints about the process. The goalposts will shift once again. No matter what the Democrats agree to, Republicans will complain about procedural unfairness and also refuse to concede the inquiry is legitimate. But how much of Republicans’ unwillingness to hold Trump accountable for his self-dealing is because they’re in on it?

On Monday the Washington Post published an interview with a Ukrainian diplomat who claimed to have met with Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., this summer to discuss the baseless conspiracy theory promoted by President Trump that Ukrainian officials had interfered in the 2016 election on behalf of Hillary Clinton.

View the complete October 30 article by Sophia Tesfaye from Salon on the AlterNet website here.