Speaker Johnson slammed for wavering on certifying 2024 election

24.09.2024 20:32

Raw Story

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, one of the key figures in House Republicans' attempts to overturn the 2020 election Donald Trump lost, came under fire Tuesday when asked if he will commit to certifying the November election even if Vice President Harris wins.

"Mr. Speaker, do you commit to observing regular order in the certification process of the 2024 election, even if Kamala Harris beats Donald Trump?" reporter Pablo Manríquez asked Tuesday (video below) at Johnson's weekly press conference.

"Well, of course, if we have a free, fair and safe election, we're going to follow the Constitution absolutely yes, absolutely yes," Speaker Johnson replied.

Political observers were quick to point out Johnson's remark suggests if the election is deemed not "free, fair and safe," he is effectively saying he might not follow the Constitution.

HuffPost's Arthur Delaney remarked, "monster 'IF' from the House Speaker who's been insinuating all year the election will be tainted by noncitizen votes."

NOTUS political investigations reporter Jose Pagliery added: "Quite the if/then statement. Conditional adherence to the U.S. Constitution."

"The 'if' here is leaving open not following the constitution," observed J.J. Abbott, former press secretary to Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Tom Wolf. "Remember Johnson was the ringleader of Stop The Steal within Congress in 2020."

Less than 24 hours earlier, from his official House account on X, Johnson had posted a screenshot of a tweet from Donald Trump claiming Democrats "are getting ready to CHEAT!" in the 2024 election.

The day before, Johnson blasted Democrats for refusing to support Republican legislation Democrats say is designed to curtail and suppress the vote.

That legislation, Johnson and House Republicans have been claiming, would stop non-U.S. citizens from voting.

The Brennan Center reported on Johnson's remarks with Donald Trump on non-citizen voting, and the expected but at that pint unfiled legislation. They called it "the Big Lie put into legislative language," because "it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote," and "voting by noncitizens is vanishingly rare."

Johnson has used his official account on X to falsely malign Democrats over all-but-non-existent non-citizen voting.

Meanwhile, in October of 2022 The New York Times reported, "A majority of House Republicans last year voted to challenge the Electoral College and upend the presidential election."

"The most far-reaching of Mr. Trump’s ploys to overturn his defeat, the objections to the Electoral College results by so many House Republicans did more than any lawsuit, speech or rally to engrave in party orthodoxy the myth of a stolen election," The Times reported. "Their actions that day legitimized Mr. Trump’s refusal to concede, gave new life to his claims of conspiracy and fraud and lent institutional weight to doubts about the central ritual of American democracy."

"In formal statements justifying their votes, about three-quarters relied on the arguments of a low-profile Louisiana congressman, Representative Mike Johnson, the most important architect of the Electoral College objections," The Times explained, referring to the now-Speaker of the House.

"On the eve of the Jan. 6 votes, he presented colleagues with what he called a 'third option.' He faulted the way some states had changed voting procedures during the pandemic, saying it was unconstitutional, without supporting the outlandish claims of Mr. Trump’s most vocal supporters. His Republican critics called it a Trojan horse that allowed lawmakers to vote with the president while hiding behind a more defensible case."

That Brennan Center article, referring to Johnson, also reported, "Never before in American history has a sitting speaker of the House done so much to denigrate the integrity of American elections."

Given his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, many seem unwilling to give Speaker Johnson the benefit of the doubt this time.

"If Harris wins, there is no chance they will comply. They'll still try to overturn the loss," commented national security attorney Brad Moss.

Barton Gellman, the well-known journalist whose work has focused on national security and who is now a Senior Advisor at the Brennan Center for Justice, wrote: "'If' ? There's a condition on following the Constitution?"

"Should never put 'if' before 'we’re gonna follow the constitution,'" commented Greg Nasif, press secretary to U.S. Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), "especially if you took an oath before God on it."

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