CLAY: We are joined now by a man who will shortly be on the ballot in Wisconsin. He now knows his opponent. He is Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. We are number one in Milwaukee. We appreciate all of you listening up there. We know that you are gonna give all the support that you can to Senator Ron Johnson. Senator Johnson, before we get into now knowing your opponent and the campaign that you are about to embark upon aggressively, what was your reaction when you saw the news about the FBI raiding Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s private residence?

SEN. JOHNSON: Well, guys, I hope you’re doing well. I wish I could say I was shocked. I probably was a little bit. Certainly outraged. But on reflection, I guess this doesn’t surprise me. I have been investigating the corruption within our federal government agencies for years. I’ve seen the corruption up close and personal. Again, I don’t want to make this about me.

But the fact of the matters is, the FBI provided me an unsolicited briefing — a secure briefing — in August of 2020, the same month that we now know through whistleblowers that they were hatching this scheme to downplay the derogatory information of Hunter Biden and basically deep six that investigation. I knew it was a bogus briefing. I knew it was a setup. And of course, it was, because about nine months later they leaked to briefing that the Washington Post to smear me.

So, again, you know, I investigated the Hillary Clinton email scandal. We’re the ones that released the Peter Strzok-Lisa Page texts. I investigated the FBI for their corrupt investigation into the Russian collusion hoax. I subpoenaed the FBI. They slow walked it. They really didn’t give us squat. We did everything we can to uncover… I know President Trump was trying to declassify information. Didn’t declassify information; we have never seen a single page of that.

So I am well aware of the corruption at the highest level of the FBI within the Department of Justice, within intelligence agencies. Remember that one famous text in December of 2016 from Peter Strzok to Lisa Page that said, “Think our sisters,” intelligence agencies. “Think our sisters are leaking like mad. Scorned and worried and political, they’re kicking to overdrive.” I think they revealed what they were going to be up to for the next four years, and it’s now into it’s sixth year of diversionary operations, corruptions, doing everything they could to destroy Donald Trump. And quite honestly, guys, now they turned their attention to me and they’re trying to destroy me.

BUCK: Senator Johnson, it’s Buck. Do you think the FBI fixable? People ask me as one who used to work in the CIA, do I “trust the agency,” or do I “trust the FBI”? I say, “No.” Then they ask me, “Well, what can we do about it?” and I say, “Well…” Senator Johnson what should I say? ‘Cause I worry that these institutions are rotting from the top down.

SEN. JOHNSON: I agree with you. I think we need something on the order of a Church Commission to look into all of these agencies — and again, I don’t say that with any kind of glee whatsoever. These are institutions. These are departments and agencies that the American people should have confidence in, whether we’re talking about the federal health agencies, whether we’re talking about our intelligence agencies, our Department of Justice, the FBI. They have given the American public no reason to trust them.

Now, I realize half the American public probably does because they’re satisfied with partisans in charge of all of these agencies. But, I mean, just the outrage of what they did at Mar-a-Lago. I was listening to an interview with Christina Bobb, one of President Trump’s attorneys. You know, she was talking about how President Trump welcomed the FBI in earlier, in June. “Take a look. You think I’ve got something? Here you go. Take a look. See what I’ve got.”

A warrant and, you know, 20 dozen vehicles — or 20 vehicles — and 30 FBI personnel is what the estimate was to show up as opposed to working through his attorneys and maybe the next step would be a subpoena? But to show up with a warrant is so unwarranted, it is so uncalled for, it is just so outrageous. This ought to concern every American. But we’re so divided that it’s only concerning about half of America.

CLAY: Yeah. Senator, I don’t know if you heard Rand Paul’s comments where he said that Merrick Garland — and certainly future Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has said the same. This feels almost as if it is impeachable in nature. Now, we don’t know exactly what the warrant says, at least not yet. But Merrick Garland made the decision to allow his FBI to investigate a former president and a potential future presidential candidate in a manner that has never occurred before in the history of the United States. Doesn’t the American public as a whole deserve to know way more about his decision-making, and isn’t in general his position as attorney general very much in question at this point in time?

SEN. JOHNSON: I think it certainly should be. I think Christopher Wray’s position ought to be in question. There’s so much we already know, guys. It was my staff that uncovered the redacted — the classified footnotes — to the FISA report which completely contradicted the statement by Bill Priestly of the FBI in the main body of the report saying that the FBI had no idea that there is any kind of Russian influence on the Steele dossier. But they did!

And it was revealed in the footnotes that they redacted, that they classified. And basically, the FBI knew as early as October 2016, certainly by January 2017, that absolutely the Steele dossier was contaminated by Russian disinformation. Now, under Christopher Wray, as late as March of 2018, they briefed the Senate Intel Committee saying that no, we think the Steele dossier has integrity.

So the FBI knew all of this. The intelligence agencies knew these things, and yet they allowed the Mueller probe to continue? They briefed the Senate intel? I mean, what else could you call that other than corruption? And again, Chuck Grassley and I start investigating Hunter Biden, and they brief us in August, a couple months before we issue our report to basically take us off the trail.

BUCK: Speaking to Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. Senator, what should the response to all this be for the American people but also for you and your colleagues in the Senate if you do manage to get the majority going in after the midterms here. What does could be able to looking for the abuse of the apparatus by Democrats?

SEN. JOHNSON: Full-blown investigations. But the problem is, they hold all the cards. So when we… Again, I subpoenaed the FBI. I basically didn’t get squat. I’ve been told by people in those agencies that, “Yeah, you were slow-walked.” They knew this administration was coming to an end. They did everything they could to end the Trump presidency. So they slow-walked. They didn’t comply with the document request, the subpoena.

But what they always say is, “Oh, we can’t get that to you because there’s an active investigation; it could harm our investigation.” So, again, they hold all the cards. They know where all the bodies are buried, figuratively speaking. They know what they need to have hide. And they just don’t give it up. They are above the law. They are the law. That is why it is so unbelievably dangerous what they are doing and what they have done.

People need to wake up! You know, on a nonpartisan basis, people have to understand how dangerous this is when you have our law enforcement agencies acting in this way, trampling on people’s rights, trampling on people’s freedom, and being completely unaccountable. But guess what? That’s what they are right now. They are completely unaccountable.

CLAY: Senator Johnson, I know you don’t have an official opponent given the fact that Wisconsin primaries were yesterday. What can you tell us about your opponent and what do you expect for this campaign season to look like?

SEN. JOHNSON: Well, my opponent was chosen by the Democrat elite. They cleared the field. We had one of his opponents spent $12 million, and all of a sudden a couple of weeks ago, he just stepped aside as did everybody else. So, you know, the Democrat Party elite, they don’t have much respect for Democrat voters here in Wisconsin. They chose the most radical leftists, okay, somebody who spent close to $600,000 having the state patrol chauffeur him around when he became lieutenant governor.

Somebody who incited the Kenosha riots by falsely claiming that it was a police vendetta against Jacob Blake. Again, these police have been completely exonerated because Jacob Blake pulled a knife on him, was trying to basically kidnap children. But our lieutenant governor — my opponent now — basically said that that was a vendetta by the police against this individual.

You know, he is the most radical leftist of any potential opponent, but now the mainstream media is trying to paint this guy as some kind of moderate who’s gonna appeal widely to Wisconsinites, at the same time as they’re trying to paint me with he have pejorative possible. I even had an opponent… I’ve had the worst opponent. I’ve had the mainstream media trying to take me out for 18 months.

And, you know, just behind President Trump, I’ve been the number one target. I’ve been tormented. I’ve been lied about. Everything I say has been distorted. And it’s not gonna stop. It’s gonna continue over the next three months. So, if you want me to save the Senate seat, if you want me to do these regulations — because let’s face it, I’ve been the one leading the charge to investigate the corruption of the deep state — RonJohnsonForSenate.com. I’m going to need a lot of help and support. It’s approaching $50 million they’ve already spent trying to destroy me politically, and it has an impact.

CLAY: We’re gonna do everything we can.

SEN. JOHNSON: It has an impact, and the media is part and parcel on that.

BUCK: We have a big audience in Wisconsin —

CLAY: Yep.

BUCK: — and they are mobilizing, Senator Johnson, and they should get out there. Everybody listening in the state of Wisconsin, please get out there and support Senator Johnson ’cause the Senate is gonna be crucial, and it’s gonna be down to two seats or so, I would say, in the end. That’s what we’re looking at here. Senator Ron Johnson, always appreciate you, sir. Thanks for being with us.

SEN. JOHNSON: God bless you. Take care.