WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, published a column in the Wall Street Journal Thursday about efforts to undermine the Trump administration and his committee’s work to declassify and provide information relevant to its investigations. Excerpts from the piece are below, and the full piece can be read here.
The U.S. is in a constitutional crisis. It began on the day of President Trump’s election, when unelected bureaucrats mobilized against his presidency. This is a crisis in the executive branch, perpetrated by subordinate officials who don’t see themselves as answerable to the president. They have effectively established a fourth branch of government—a permanent, unaccountable bureaucracy.
Fortunately, there are people who are working to uncover the truth. Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, Attorney General William Barr, former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, his successor, John Ratcliffe and my committee, along with the Senate Finance and Judiciary committees, are working to declassify important information and make it public. Unfortunately, uncovering the truth isn’t easy, and time may be running out. Should Joe Biden win the presidency, the truth may be hidden forever.
We have reached the moment of truth. For years, our efforts to obtain documents and testimony from federal intelligence agencies, including the FBI and CIA, have been stonewalled. Now Mr. Trump has authorized his subordinates to declassify and provide all information relevant to our investigations. Will they comply with his directive, or will the insurrection continue? We will hear howling and screaming that the president is politicizing the agencies and threatening national security. But what is the greater threat to our democracy—transparency, or the continued coverup of an attempted coup against the duly elected president?
You can read the full piece here.
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