Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) dubiously claimed Sunday that former President Donald Tump did not pursue the prosecution of 2016 election opponent Hillary Clinton because it “was best for America.” (Watch the video below.)
In a discussion with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures,” Johnson decried Trump’s federal indictment alleging he mishandled classified government documents stowed at Mar-a-Lago.
The far-right lawmaker accused the press of overlooking the Biden family’s business dealings before offering a severely distorted take on Trump.
“President Ford decided it was best for America not to pursue prosecution against President Nixon,” Johnson said. “President Trump pretty much made the same decision and decided not to pursue any kind of prosecution of Hillary Clinton. Joe Biden could have made the exact same decision but he didn’t.
“He allowed a SWAT raid on a very secure residence of President Trump over federal records, even though he was holding classified records himself. So that record issue should have been handled civilly. We should never even be in this place. But these are decisions President Biden made as much as he’s probably lying about not talking to the Justice Department at all. That’s pretty hard to believe when you understand how many other lies President Biden has told the public.”
Much of what he said doesn’t pass a fact check.
Trump tried to have Clinton investigated by a special counsel, but it never happened, according to PolitiFact. The former president wanted Attorney General Jeff Sessions to prosecute Clinton for using a private email server while secretary of state.
Not to mention that the FBI earlier recommended against prosecuting Clinton in 2016, and a State Department probe in 2019 found “no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information” after she turned over tens of thousands of emails.
As for Biden making decisions in Trump’s criminal case, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) recently fact-checked Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on similar GOP accusations:
“Presidents don’t jail or indict anyone. Grand juries indict.”
Trump also has been indicted in New York on charges related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trial has been scheduled for 2024.