Joe Biden and the White House are saying very little of substance about the scandal over the president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and the appointment of a special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland. That is certainly a wise approach for anyone under what appears to be a criminal investigation. However, some Democrats are rushing to Biden’s defense, even floating wild conspiracy theories.
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) raised eyebrows with his comments outside the Capitol on Thursday that were apparently intended to help Biden somehow.
Johnson, whose congressional district covers parts of metropolitan Atlanta, called for a more thorough investigation into the source of the classified documents found in the garage at one of Biden’s two private Delaware residences and in a closet at the Washington, D.C., Penn Biden Center think tank.
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) says he is "suspicious" of the classified docs that were found at Biden's home and office
He suggests they might have been "planted" there to take Biden down
This is the same guy who said Guam might tip over and capsize in the ocean from overpopulation pic.twitter.com/X524WC4zoy
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) January 12, 2023
Johnson suggested that the timing of the revelations about the classified material was “suspicious” and openly speculated that the president is being targeted by unnamed conspirators intent on harming him.
He said: “My response to it all is that alleged classified documents showing up allegedly in possession of Joseph Biden, you know, I mean, there’s so much that needs to be investigated, and that’s what I call for is for everything to be investigated.”
He rambled on, adding that he is “aware of the fact that things can be planted on people.”
Johnson said that he is “not ruling it out” that what happened to Biden was a situation where “things can be planted in places and then discovered conveniently.”
The Georgia congressman has made news in the past with comments that have caused a mixture of amusement and disbelief. In 2010, he challenged a Navy commander in a House hearing about the number of military personnel and dependents stationed on the island of Guam, a strategic U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean.
Johnson said, “My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.”
The Nave commander responded, “We don’t anticipate that.”
Johnson was first elected to represent Georgia’s 4th Congressional District in Congress in 2006. He won reelection in 2022 with 78.5% of the vote in the district.
