Senator Ron Johnson on FBI Surveillance and Government Shutdown

FBI Surveillance of Senators

• 💡 Senator Ron Johnson expresses that the FBI's surveillance of eight senators and one member of Congress did not surprise him, given his decade of investigating the FBI.
• ⚠️ He calls the surveillance an outrageous violation of the separation of powers and part of a broader pattern of federal agencies being weaponized.
• 🔍 Johnson infers that the procedure change regarding obtaining records of members of Congress by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco occurred retroactively to cover tracks after the records were obtained.
• 🗓️ He emphasizes the importance of timelines in investigations, noting that phone records were obtained via grand jury subpoena more than a month after President Trump's indictment and around the time of the January 6th events.
• 🗣️ Johnson prefers transparency and public exposure over a special counsel or criminal investigation, advocating for joint investigations with Senator Grassley to hold hearings and expose the truth.

Investigation Process and Transparency

• 🕵️‍♂️ Johnson suggests that internal investigations by individuals like Cash Patel and Dan Bonino, with oversight from Senators Grassley and himself, would be more transparent than a criminal investigation.
• 🏛️ He believes that congressional hearings can expose issues and then refer matters for criminal prosecution, prioritizing public understanding over potentially sealing evidence in a criminal case.
• ❓ The predicate for obtaining the phone records is unknown, but it appears the normal rigorous approval process was circumvented by claiming the individuals were not targets of an investigation.
• 📢 The revelation of the surveillance came from a whistleblower within the FBI's Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST) who mentioned obtaining records from members of Congress as an accomplishment for recertification.

Government Shutdown and Budget Issues

• 🚫 Senator Johnson blames Chuck Schumer for the current government shutdown, stating that Democrats are being led by the radical left and voting against appropriation levels they previously supported.
• 📉 He criticizes the current spending levels as too high and highlights the failure of Congress to pass appropriation bills, citing a 96.7% failure rate over 15 years.
• 💡 Johnson proposes his "Eliminate Shutdown Act" which would implement rolling appropriations to prevent shutdowns, a common-sense measure he finds disappointing that even some Republican appropriators voted against.
• 💰 He argues that continuing enhanced Obamacare subsidies perpetuates a massive fraud on American taxpayers and benefits insurance companies, and he is donating his congressional paycheck during the shutdown to a jobs initiative.