Wisconsin Senator Johnson Tried To Give Pence Fake Slates Of Electors, Committee Says

Topline

The January 6 committee presented evidence Tuesday that they say shows Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson (R) wanted to “hand deliver” slates of fake electors to Vice President Mike Pence during the certification of the presidential election on January 6, 2021, as part of an effort endorsed by former President Donald Trump’s legal team to overturn the election results.

Key Facts

The committee released text messages Johnson staffer Sean Riley sent to Pence staffer Chris Hodgson “just minutes” before Congress met to certify votes on January 6, with Riley saying the senator “needs to hand something to VPOTUS.”

When Hodgson asks what it is, Riley replies: “Alternate slate of electors for MI (Michigan) and WI (Wisconsin).”

Hodgson then bluntly tells Riley: “Do not give that to him.”

Johnson’s spokeswoman Alexa Henning denied the senator had any role in fake elector schemes, tweeting Tuesday that Johnson “had no involvement in the creation of an alternate slate of electors and had no foreknowledge that it was going to be delivered to our office.”

Key Background

Thursday’s hearing, the fourth from the January 6 committee, focused on Trump’s push to get individual states to overturn election results. His lawyers often endorsed an unfounded legal strategy for states Trump lost to somehow appoint alternate slates of electors to subvert the will of voters and ensure Trump won the Electoral College count. The three previous hearings focused on the actions of rioters on January 6, Trump’s choice to ignore advisors who told him he lost the election and the former president’s effort to convince Pence to block the certification of the election.