The Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government heard testimony from Johnson.
Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson has claimed that the left has “infiltrated” important U.S. institutions and so controls critical narratives in ways that he claims are harmful to the country, in response to Republican leaders’ concerns over the supposed weaponization of the U.S. government.
On Friday, Johnson told Fox News Digital that the left “very much invaded the key institutions in this nation, starting with our university system, and it simply has metastasized,” and that they are now in charge of the narrative and utilizing that influence in “very damaging ways.”
The following comments were made by Johnson as a follow-up to his testimony before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponizaton of the Federal Government on Thursday. To shed light on the Justice Department’s supposed assault on civil rights in the United States, the panel heard testimony from high-ranking members of Congress, FBI agents, and legal experts.
The “left-wing political movement” of which Johnson warned includes the “mainstream media,” “big tech,” “social media,” “global institutions and foundations,” “Democrat Party operatives,” and “elected officials.”
When the Obama administration was accused of using the IRS as a weapon against groups seeking tax-exempt status during the Tea Party movement, Johnson claims that this type of coordination first arose.
After Johnson described the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election as “It was the most destructive political dirty trick in U.S. history, but the media and former intelligence officials falsely labeled it a Russian misinformation operation because it involved Hunter Biden’s laptop and overseas business dealings.
Johnson has also claimed that a coordinated effort on the part of federal authorities thwarted his investigation into Hunter Biden’s financial dealings. Fox News Digital quoted Johnson as saying, “several players are colluding to undermine and ruin our efforts, calling it Russian propaganda.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley’s testimony in which he described a “triad of disinformation and plain falsehoods” from the FBI, the political media, and certain Democrats was used as part of his argument.
That’s why Johnson told Fox that he absolutely, positively “We aren’t talking about the vast majority of service people who do their jobs honorably. about the state.”
He explained, “I mean the dishonest people.”
The Twitter Files, along with the Hunter Biden scandal, have helped draw conservatives’ attention to the left’s efforts to weaponize government. According to the documents, Twitter has been working closely with government agencies for some years.
Johnson pointed to these leaks as proof that the administration was trying to hide knowledge regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
He stated that the revelation of the Twitter data and the lawsuit from Missouri and Louisiana against the Biden administration had given them “a crisper picture” of “how active government officials were in limiting free expression and shaping the narrative.”
On Thursday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan stated, “I have never seen anything like this” in his time in Congress. He went on to say that the problems were not unique to the FBI.
“People in the United States are worried that the Department of Justice is applying different standards to different groups. Concerns have been raised by the American public regarding the Disinformation Governance Board that the Department of Homeland Security planned to establish. In the United States, some are worried about how the ATF will handle the Second Amendment. They are also understandably concerned about the impending addition of thousands of more IRS agents “He said.
Adding to the unease, he said, “big government, Big Tech cooperated to shape and mold the narrative, to conceal facts, and to censor Americans,” as seen by the tweets in question.
In response, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.), accused Republicans of “weaponizing Congress” and voiced concern that the subcommittee would be used “to settle scores, showcase conspiracy theories, and advance an extreme agenda that risk undermining the faith of Americans in our democracy.”
One of the resolution’s stated goals is to “investigate how executive branch agencies collect, compile, analyze, use, or disseminate information about United States citizens, including any unconstitutional, illegal, or unethical activities committed against citizens of the United States,” according to the resolution’s text.
The panel is tasked with conducting “a full and comprehensive inquiry and study,” which must be finalized by January 2, 2025, per the terms of the resolution.