U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) visited GOP frontrunner and former President Donald Trump this weekend at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, after Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump (his sons and Trump Organization) to pay $355 million in damages after his civil fraud claim.
The Biden-Harris HQ account captioned it: “The Speaker of the House meets with Mike Johnson.”
The Speaker of the House meets with Mike Johnson https://t.co/hADNBRkjAL
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 20, 2024
[That’s a dig at the Speaker who announced the Biden and Senate approved bipartisan emergency foreign aid bill, which included $60 billion for Ukraine, “dead on arrival” in the House allegedly on orders from Trump.]
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) also called out Johnson for blocking Ukraine aid, saying: “Mike Johnson ought to search his conscience” and not go down the “path of cowardice and doing what Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin want him to do.”
Former Republican Congresswoman @Liz_Cheney calls out @SpeakerJohnson for blocking Ukraine aid: “Mike Johnson ought to search his conscience” and not go down the “path of cowardice and doing what Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin want him to do.” pic.twitter.com/7NneB9f7hh
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) February 18, 2024
When lawyer and political commentator Tim Hogan saw the photo, he wrote: “Something about this photo bothered me, beyond the obvious.” He added: “It occupied my mind for a bit” and then provided his analysis in a long thread.
1. Something about this photo bothered me, beyond the obvious. At first it was the Exit sign that looks like it’s above a window. And old wood look was not Mar-a-Logo gaudy gilded gauche. Then I thought, why is Johnson there? It occupied my mind for a bit and here’s my analysis. pic.twitter.com/5u5hp9B8j8
— Tim Hogan 浩勤 (@TimInHonolulu) February 20, 2024
Hogan questioned “why did Johnson travel down there just for what was likely a brief meeting rather than a call?… And if he needed to meet in person, why the golf course?”
Hogan added: “I remain convinced Donald Trump gets orders from Putin via cutouts in Florida or perhaps while he’s in flight. Putin knows US capabilities but we are not likely the problem.”
3. why did Johnson travel down there just for what was likely a brief meeting rather than a call?
The Pew Research poll has confirmed what many had thought that the @houseGOP decision to join forces with Putin against Ukraine
— Tim Hogan 浩勤 (@TimInHonolulu) February 20, 2024
Note: In espionage parlance, a cutout is “a mutually trusted intermediary, method or channel of communication that facilitates the exchange of information between agents.”