Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., on Sunday accused Democrats of paving the way for Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine. According to the senator's somewhat tortured logic, the first impeachment of Donald Trump, over his attempt to blackmail the Ukrainian president, somehow empowered Putin's aggression.
Johnson appeared on Fox News as numerous Republicans over the weekend issued statements blaming President Biden for Putin's aggression, even though it was Trump who sought to withhold defense aid — already authorized by Congress — from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky unless the latter helped Trump smear Biden in the 2020 election. Johnson spread the blame widely, suggesting that Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman were all responsible after they tried to hold Trump accountable for the blackmail scheme led by Rudy Giuliani.
