Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., on Sunday angrily defended President Donald Trump’s interest in whether Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election, insisting the president “vehemently” denied he ever linked military aid to a Kyiv probe.
In a contentious interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” Johnson argued there was still much to learn about bias of FBI agent Peter Strzok and others against Trump ahead of the election — but was pressed on Trump’s reported linking nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine’s probe.
“This is the piece of the puzzle I’m here to report today,” Johnson declared.
But MTP host Chuck Todd pressed Johnson on why the link of military aid to an investigation made him “wince.”
“That’s why President Trump is upset and his supporters… the news media is vey biased,” Johnson thundered.
“Sen. Johnson, please… I’m just trying to ask you a simple question, what made you wince?” Todd said. "You clearly were upset that military aid was being frozen. Why did you wince?”
“I didn’t want those connected, I was supporting the aid,” he explained. “But here’s the salient point, why I came forward."
Trump “completely denied it, adamantly denied it, angrily denied it. [He said] ‘I would never do that.’,” Johnson said. “He wants an accounting of 2016, who set him up. Did things spring from Ukraine?”
“There is potential interference in the 2016 election,” he said. “That’s what the president wants to get to the bottom of.… but the press doesn’t want to…. the press is horribly biased and the president and his supporters completely understand that.”