Fox News "Sunday Morning Features" - Transcript Interview with Ron Johnson

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Joining me right now with reaction is Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson. He is doing his own deep dive into Obama era corruption. He is the chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

Senator, it's always a pleasure. Good morning to you.

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): Good morning, Maria.

Let me first offer my condolences to the president and his family on the passing of his brother Robert. My condolences.

BARTIROMO: Yes, we did say that as well. The president was in New York for his brother on Friday night.

Let me ask you about Kevin Clinesmith, Senator, and how this fits into the overall puzzle of corruption during the transition period from Obama to Trump.

Your reaction to this lawyer doctoring evidence, which we knew he did? He's now going to plead guilty.

JOHNSON: Well, this is an obvious indictment. And I can only assume the reason it took so long is probably John Durham was trying to get Kevin Clinesmith to cooperate with his additional prosecutions and investigations.

So I'm hoping that's the case, because there's an awful lot of wrongdoing that has to be exposed.

I think what was probably most stunning about the court document is now we know that, back in August of 2016, the CIA had already notified the FBI that they knew that Carter Page was an operational contact for the CIA. So, the FBI knew this back in August of 2016. And we only know that now?

You know, Maria, what we have found out in just the last week, you know, the premeditated lie on the part of the FBI briefers to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Now the fact that the FBI knew that Carter Page was an operational contact back in August 2016, these revelations are stunning.

And we should have known about this years ago, which, again, just makes me even more frustrated with Director Wray that I was forced to offer -- issue him a subpoena, which all those documents are due next Thursday. And they better be forthcoming.

BARTIROMO: Well, you make a really important point.

And we need to call it out right here. And what that is, is you and your colleagues have been asking for documents, asking for the evidence for years. And the FBI is sitting on documents. Whether it's you or when John Ratcliffe was in Congress or Devin Nunes, they all told me, over 2017, '18, '19, '20, that they constantly asked and asked to look at evidence and documents from the FBI, and you're not getting them.

Why are we learning all of this stuff now, when we spent $40 million on a Mueller investigation, we spent more money on a Michael Horowitz I.G. report? None of this unearthed any of this stuff. Michael Horowitz did do a good job in terms of the footnotes and unearthing a lot of things.

But all of these documents have been there this whole time, Senator.

JOHNSON: The reason we're not getting this is because the people that perpetrated this massive fraud on the American public have been very successful at hiding the ball.

You have a criminal investigation. Then you have Robert Mueller. And, by the way, I never supported the appointment of a special counsel. And I called it right out from the start that Robert Mueller never should have been the special counsel, because he had a massive conflict of interests.

I knew there was wrongdoing in the FBI. I was pilloried in the press for saying that. But now we know there was absolute corruption at the highest levels of the FBI. And it's taken years for this to come out.

This is completely unacceptable. We need to get to the truth as quickly as possible.

BARTIROMO: So, now we know, Senator Graham told us weeks ago, that the FBI briefed the Senate Intel Committee about the dossier in February of 2018, a year after everybody knew that the dossier was garbage, that it was hearsay.

You heard from the subsource in January of 2017. A year later, they brief - - the FBI briefs. And now Graham told us last week it was Bill Priestap briefing the Senate Intel. And they lied or misled under oath.

So let me ask you about those subpoenas. Who is stopping you from subpoenaing people from the FBI? You want to subpoena Chris Wray. You want to subpoena Jim Comey. Why aren't you? Why isn't -- and Lindsey Graham, who has subpoena power?

JOHNSON: Well, first of all, I have the authority to subpoena 33 different individuals. James Comey, Clapper, Brennan, those folks are on the list.

What has delayed my interviews of those individuals is, we don't have the documents. How can you sit down and conduct a thorough interview when you don't have, for example, the two documents that were just revealed over the last week?

So, we absolutely need those documents. That is what the FBI has been so successful at hiding the ball on. And, Maria, I have been saying this for a number of years. How do you investigate the investigators? They know how the game is played.

This, to me, has been an enormous diversionary operation to cover up their wrongdoing. It has been a successful diversionary operation. But now the chickens are coming home to roost. We're finally starting to learn this. But we are running out of time.

Nobody can out-frustrate me, trust me. I was kind of raked over the coals earlier this week by a radio talk show host. Nobody can out-frustrate me in the terms of the lack of forthcomingness from the FBI and the fact that we have not gotten these types of truths available and exposed to the American public.

BARTIROMO: Well, let me ask you this, because the only GOP senator who voted for impeachment is on your committee. And that is Senator Mitt Romney.

Is Mitt Romney stopping you from subpoenaing Brennan and Comey?

JOHNSON: No, he voted for that authority.

Now, there's no doubt about it. In the lead-up to that vote, we had to deal with members on my committee that had reservations. And I'd say they were legitimate. This is the committee process. I need to respect the wishes of the members of my committee.

But, in the end, every Republican on my committee gave me that authority. We have had that authority for a couple months. But they also wanted me to voluntarily get this information.

Well, we bent over backwards for the last couple months. My patience ran out, and I have begun the compulsory process. So we have already issued subpoenas to Director Wray for those documents, to Anthony -- or Jonathan Winer from the State Department. And additional subpoenas will be forthcoming.

BARTIROMO: My sources tell me that John Brennan is doing an interview with John Durham this upcoming Friday.

I guess my only question to you is, as we await John Durham's investigation results, do you see reason for indictments?

JOHNSON: Oh, I think, certainly, Andrew McCabe should have been indicted over a year ago after the I.G. report, where he was -- I love this euphemism, lacked candor with the FBI.

No, he lied to his own FBI investigators. Remember, George Papadopoulos spent 10 days in jail in Wisconsin for lying to the FBI. So, I can only assume, from that standpoint, that there are much greater offenses that they are investigating Andrew McCabe for.

But, no, there should be a host of indictments.

BARTIROMO: OK.

JOHNSON: From what we already know, there should be a host of indictments.

BARTIROMO: Senator, it's good to have you this morning. Thanks very much.

Of course, we will be following the situation, Senator Ron Johnson.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source