Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin disputed claims by Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland that Republicans weaponized government Friday.
“I laid out in my testimony the history of my knowledge and involvement, and my witnessing of the federal government being weaponized not only against the American public, but against myself and Senator Grassley individually during our investigation of Hunter Biden’s laptop computer and their foreign financial entanglements,” Johnson told Fox News guest host Gillian Turner. (RELATED: Republicans Bust Out Laughing As Dem Rep Says J6 Committee Doesn’t Engage In Partisan Politics)
Raskin made his claims that Republicans were engaging in “pure psychological projection” about the weaponization of government during testimony at a fiery hearing Thursday to investigate allegations that the federal government had been weaponized against conservatives. Johnson also testified at the hearing before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
“I started out saying that the weaponization of the IRS against Tea Party groups was really where my eyes began opening, and then as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Senate Oversight Committee, you know, I opened up investigations, I saw the corrupt exoneration of Hillary Clinton, I saw the corrupt investigation of the Russian collusion hoax,” Johnson said.
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“And we’ve certainly have seen how the federal health agencies have been weaponized against doctors who just have a different opinion on how to handle the pandemic,” Johnson added. “Doctors who had the courage and compassion to treat patients with their off-label prescription rights.”
Raskin accused supporters of former President Donald Trump of weaponizing Congress to attack the federal government, and for seeking “revenge.”
“By establishing a select subcommittee on weaponization, they’re telling us that Donald Trump’s followers will continue weaponizing any part of the government they can get their hands on to attack their enemies, defined as anyone who stands in the way of their quest for power,” Raskin claimed. (RELATED: The Twitter Files Raised A Lot Of Questions About Twitter And The FBI. The Bureau Hasn’t Answered Any Of Them)
Johnson disputed Raskin’s claims, pointing to what he had observed since starting his service in the Senate after the 2010 election.
“I’ve seen a lot, I’ve been right there in the belly of the beast watching this happen and my major point is these corrupt actors are probably leftists, mostly leftists, they’ve infiltrated every institution within this country and they’re using their power to push their left-wing ideology,” Johnson said.
“I think that’s obvious, the Twitter Files reveal that,” Johnson added, referring to a series of reports based on documents released by Elon Musk after the Tesla CEO purchased the social media site that described “shadow-banning” and other forms of censorship. “But because they have the power, they control the narrative in the mainstream media. You know, Congressman Raskin is able to get away with… falsely accusing us of doing exactly what the left is doing.”
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