WASHINGTON — Trump-appointed US Attorney General Bill Barr is now in the crosshairs of the president’s supporters. He stirred the president’s base after telling the Associated Press on Monday, “to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election.” But Trump-ally Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin says he still has outstanding questions.
“I interpreted his comments that they're continuing to investigate some of these allegations,” said Sen. Johnson. “I know, certainly, the president's legal team is as well. And I think we should let this process play out. There's enough irregularities, enough suspicious acts that I think warrant full investigation, full vetting, and we'll let the process play out.”
Sen. Johnson hit back at Democrats who pointed to Barr’s admission as another reason why Pres. Trump and his supporters should stop claiming the election was rigged.
“This is coming from partisan politicians that have, for four years, said that the President Trump, the duly elected president of the United States was illegitimate,” he said. “That promoted and lied about Russian collusion with the Trump campaign, that produced an impeachment against them in a trial in the Senate, this group of people that never ever allowed for peaceful transition of power to the Trump administration. Now, they're demanding that within weeks that President Trump concede.”
But a Tuesday morning guest column for the conservative site The Bulwark paints a different picture of Johnson’s thoughts. Former Brown County, Wisconsin GOP Chair Mark Becker wrote the senator told him in a private phone call that he “knows that Joe Biden won a free and fair election.” Becker claims that Johnson is refusing to admit it publicly because it would be harmful to his political career to oppose Trump.
“He knows that Joe Biden has won, he knows that, that it wasn't this massive fraud that that is being put out there,” said Becker. “But then he will go in front of the TV cameras, and say the exact opposite. So it's really frustrating to you know, as a former political leader, for the Republican Party, to see people who I've worked with who I've helped campaign for, go down this road.”
Sen. Johnson says Becker is the one being dishonest.
“I never said that,” said Johnson. “I think you need to consider the source somebody that set up a phone call under false pretenses and then writes an article about it. No, I have been very consistent.”
Becker says he wrestled with writing the column for weeks following his conversation with Johnson on November 14. He thinks even if people won’t believe what he wrote, he wants other Republicans to speak out as well.
“There are facts even from Trump's own attorney general, that this election was not soaked in fraud. Believe that,” said Becker. “You don't want to believe me? Fine, that's fine. But believe the Republican officials from the battleground states that are that are saying the same thing.”