Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee Sen. Ron Johnson called his Democratic counterpart on the panel a liar on Wednesday for launching false allegations of Russian disinformation.
The Wisconsin Republican said Sen. Gary Peters, Michigan Democrat and ranking member on the committee, spread misinformation about Russian interference in the 2016 election and then accused Mr. Johnson of spreading Russian disinformation.
“You lied repeatedly in the press I was spreading Russian disinformation,” Mr. Johnson said. “That was an outright lie.”
“This isn’t about airing your grievances,” Mr. Peters fired back. “This is terrible what you are doing to this committee.”
“It is what you have done to the committee falsely accusing the chairman,” Mr. Johnson responded.
The verbal jabs came as the committee probed potential conflicts of interest in business dealings within the Biden family, mainly through President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s son Hunter and foreign officials in Ukraine and China.
The Wednesday hearing also focused on election irregularities.
Mr. Johnson said evaluating lax enforcement of election laws and potential fraud should not be controversial, while Mr. Peters has said the hearing undermines democracy by spreading disinformation that the election was unfair.
Mr. Johnson has also uncovered questionable business dealings for Mr. Biden’s son and family, which the committee continues to investigate.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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