FBI Obtained Ron Johnson’s Phone Records During Jan. 6 Investigation
Johnson was involved in attempt to get slate of false electors to then-VP Mike Pence.
Sen. Ron Johnson speaks at the RNC on Monday, July 15, 2024, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
New documents show Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s phone records were obtained by the FBI during a now-shuttered investigation into President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to former President Joe Biden.
Johnson, whose office was involved in attempting to get slates of false electors from Wisconsin and Michigan to former Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021, said the Biden-era surveillance of him and eight other Republicans “should shock every American.”
The records were sought as part of the FBI’s “Arctic Frost” investigation, led by former Special Counsel Jack Smith. The FBI was reviewing phone use from Jan. 4-7, 2021, the days surrounding the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
A statement from Grassley said the “toll analysis” data doesn’t include the content of the call, but lists data about when a call was made, who it was made to, the duration and general location of the phone.
During a Tuesday appearance with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, Johnson said the revelation “doesn’t surprise me.”
“It should shock, it should outrage every American,” Johnson said. “Honestly, by now, it should be obvious to every American that it’s not the Republicans that are a threat to our democracy. It’s President Obama, it’s President Biden, it’s the radical leftists that have served and support them.”
Johnson’s involvement in Trump effort to overturn 2020 loss has been questioned before
Johnson’s involvement in Trump’s attempt to stay in power following his 2020 loss to Biden has made headlines before.
Former Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Andrew Hitt told a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack that Johnson called him, suggesting in December 2020 that GOP-led state legislatures could override voters and pick presidential electors themselves. Hitt said he didn’t support the idea and told Johnson that nonpartisan attorneys in Wisconsin said the Legislature didn’t have the power to unilaterally choose the electors.
Other documents released in 2024 suggested Wisconsin was the genesis of that false electors plot. In a collection of emails and text messages released as part of a lawsuit settlement, Trump attorneys James Troupis and Kenneth Chesebro discussed how the strategy could work. They also showed that Chesebro made official-looking documents falsely claiming a slate of GOP electors was certified by the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
Democratic Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed 11 felony forgery charges in 2024 against Troupis, Chesebro and former Trump campaign manager Mike Roman. A preliminary hearing in the criminal cases is set for Dec. 15.
Johnson initially struggled to explain his involvement with the false elector scheme and his staff’s attempt to get the false electors to Pence. At first, Johnson said he’d only introduced Troupis to his staff via text messages. Later, he claimed the Jan. 6 committee was “selectively and deceptively” releasing text messages “to smear me” and didn’t recollect his phone call to Hitt.
Smith’s criminal probe into Trump’s attempt to stay in power after losing the 2020 election ended shortly after Trump won a second term as president in November 2024. Smith resigned from the Justice Department after submitting his investigative report and later said the evidence against Trump would have led to his conviction at trial if it wasn’t dropped.
FBI obtained US Sen. Ron Johnson’s phone records during Jan. 6 investigation was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
