Barry Piatt, Author
When a politician tells a reporter that their question is a “non-story,” you can depend on the fact that it is, in fact, a big story, and the politician is terrified to be confronted with it.
The politician is, in effect, wishing the story away. Like a child shutting their eyes, hoping that whatever scares them will simply disappear if they cannot see it.
Ron Johnson by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Senator Ron Johnson (Fascist Republican – WI) delivered a classic example when he dodged questions about why “his office” attempted to deliver forged and fake electoral college ballots to Vice President Mike Pence on January 6th, 2022. Forged and fake electoral ballots they knew were forged and fake.
This is a big story. He is terrified, panicking because he’s being asked about it.
Cornered, Johnson did what corrupt politicians typically do: lie. He claimed he knew nothing. Of course, he knew everything about it.
After nearly four decades working on Capitol Hill, I can assure you that no senate staffer (especially the senate chief of staff) ever contacts the vice president’s chief of staff with a request without the senator’s full knowledge and signing off.
Johnson is right to be terrified. He knows he is now in big trouble. No wonder he is trying to wish this story away.