Sen. Johnson: Subpoenas for Russia Probe Info, Not Lack of Cooperation

The Senate Homeland Security Committee wishes to subpoena key figures and agencies because it wants information about the origins of the Russia probe and the unmasking of associates of President Donald Trump, not because those agencies are refusing to cooperate, Sen. Ron Johnson, the committee's chairman, said Friday. 

"What I'm hoping to do is get the authority for the subpoenas and hopefully everybody will cooperate with us," the Wisconsin Republican said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "Hopefully they will cooperate. That is my main emphasis." 

The subpoena list includes former CIA Director John Brennan, ex-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former FBI Director James Comey, former FBI agent Peter Strzok, former FBI attorney Lisa Page, ex-U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power, and former National Security Adviser Susan Rice. 

"These are individuals that unmasked Michael Flynn," said Johnson, referring to the practice of revealing the names of Americans discovered to be potentially involved with people of foreign interests under surveillance. "We don't know which other individuals might have been unmasked. That's part of the equation."

The committee will look at what happened before the election in terms of potential corruption during the transition between administrations, the misuse of defensive briefings, media leaks and more. 

Eighteen different media outlets received leaks, said Johnson, and they were either "duped or complicit." 

"When will they start investigating and revealing people that completely and utterly misled them?" said Johnson. 

Johnson also commented on the protests in Minnesota after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of police. 

"You look at that video and it's horrific," said Johnson, adding that outrage is "very legitimate," but the solution isn't in violent protests or in looting and burning businesses and hurting innocent people. 

"I sure wish, in this case, that the wheels of justice would move quicker and hopefully the rioting will stop," said Johnson, "but again, I understand the frustration."

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