There is only one thing scarier than the idea of an attempted coup in the United States of America: the knowledge that the plan spread to all three branches of our government. In the executive office, the president began the Big Lie that led to the attempted coup. In the judicial branch, the wife of a Supreme Court judge was encouraging an overturning of a democratically-decided election. In the legislative branch, new ties to the insurrection are being revealed in the Jan. 6 committee hearings and it’s clear the plot spread to that branch, as well.
Col. Alexander Vindman summed up the story this way:
Wait @SenRonJohnson tried to perpetrated a fraud and submit a slate of fake electors in an attempt to steal the 2020 election away from @POTUS ? What does #Wisconsin think about Ron trying to deprive them of their vote. @TheOtherMandela will do better.
— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) June 21, 2022
During Tuesday hearing by the Jan. 6 committee, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) was revealed for his potentially criminal involvement in the coup. The committee showed the public today that Johnson’s aide texted an aide to then-Vice President Mike Pence, a man named Sean Riley, asking for a meeting with the president in order to hand over the documents signed by a fake slate of electors, an attempted fraud against the U.S. government.
According to CBS News:
‘Text message records show top Johnson aide Sean Riley asking top Pence aide Chris Hodgson about the matter early in the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021.
‘”Johnson needs to hand something to VPOTUS please advise,” Riley texted.
‘”What is it?” Pence aide Hodgson responded.
‘”Alternate slate of electors from MI and WI because archivist didn’t receive them,” Johnson aide Riley said.
‘”Do not give that to him,” Pence’s aide responded.’
Twitter had a lot of thoughts on the subject of Johnson’s involvement in the coup, with most saying they weren’t surprised at all. Read some of their comments below: