Ron Johnson says…pro-Trump electors..came from Mike Kelly’s office.

Source: Politico | June 23, 2022 | Anthony Adragna

Ron Johnson says the alternate slate of pro-Trump electors that his top aide tried to get to Mike Pence on Jan. 6 came from Mike Kelly’s office.

The GOP senator made the claim on Wisconsin radio as the story keeps evolving.

What happened: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is now connecting a slate of alternate, Trump-friendly electors from Wisconsin and Michigan — a list that a top aide tried to get to then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021 — originally came from Rep. Mike Kelly’s (R-Pa.) office. Johnson, as he faces mounting criticism from Democratic foes about his role in the matter, continues to say he didn’t know the specifics of the document.

Here’s what Johnson told “The Vicki McKenna Show” happened that morning (audio captured via American Bridge).

– At 11:36 a.m., Johnson says he got a text from Jim Troupis, then a Trump campaign counsel: “Need to get a document on Wisconsin electors to you and the VP immediately. Is there a staff person I can talk to immediately? Thanks, Jim.” (Troupis led a lawsuit attempting to overturn Trump’s Wisconsin loss.)

– According to Johnson, 6 minutes later he connected Troupis with his chief of staff, Sean Riley, via text. “Jim Troupis meet Sean Riley,” Johnson said it read.

– Later that morning, Riley tried to get Pence a list of fake electors from Michigan and Wisconsin. A top aide to Pence rebuffed that effort, the Jan. 6 panel revealed earlier this week.

……..

Kelly, first elected to the House in 2010, tried to file an emergency lawsuit at the Supreme Court to decertify the results of President Joe Biden’s win in his state. The court eventually turned that back in a brief one-sentence order.

Johnson again dismissed the situation as a “non-story” and minimized his involvement in it. “My office’s entire involvement in this thing lasted 70 minutes. My involvement was probably seconds, maybe a minute or two,” he said.

More text messages posted by Just The News of the exchange between a top Pence aide, Chris Hodgson, and Riley showed further why Johnson’s office got waved off trying to hand Pence anything. “The VP absolutely should not receive any mail that hasn’t been screened,” Hodgson wrote. Riley wrote back: “Understood. Johnson understands.”

What still doesn’t make sense: Senators are normally assumed to be judicious in what they pass along to the executive branch, but Johnson is essentially alleging that he passed on the document from Kelly to Pence without any vetting.

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