Sen. Ron Johnson says it's 'certainly possible' that the government was involved in JFK assassination

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said it is "certainly possible" government agencies were involved in the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy and called the death of the sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein "fishy" during a wide-ranging interview released Tuesday by a popular YouTuber.

“I think it’s certainly possible, yeah,” the Wisconsin Republican responded when asked by the YouTuber Tommy G if it was possible that U.S. agencies were involved in JFK's assassination. “The American public deserves the truth, and we haven’t gotten it.”

"There’s so many unanswered questions, so many witnesses that just died, so many leads that weren’t followed up on, so much evidence that obviously should have been collected that people have been prevented from collecting," Johnson said.

Johnson's comments on JFK's death were just one of several conspiracy theories the Oshkosh Republican entertained during the interview with Tommy G, a YouTuber who bills himself as making "the craziest documentaries" on the video streaming website. The pair also touched on the circumstances surrounding Epstein's death in a jail cell in 2019, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign and potential surveillance.

The nearly 20-minute video purported to be "Investigating Corruption in Washington DC" and featured only one lawmaker: Johnson. Wisconsin's senior senator, Tommy G said, was the only member of Congress who agreed to an interview.

Ron Johnson on Jeffrey Epstein death: 'Certainly it's fishy'

Among the other questions the YouTuber asked the senator: Do you believe there's anything fishy about the death of Jeffrey Epstein?

"Well, certainly it’s fishy," Johnson responded. "The coverup of the list of individuals that visited Epstein Island is pretty fishy," he added, before claiming that "it’s mainly people of the left that Jeffrey Epstein was courting and that took advantage of his island pleasures.”

"I think we should have a full investigation of Jeffrey Epstein and his activities," Johnson said.

Asked who he thinks is a "remarkable character" in the 2024 presidential election, Johnson pointed to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Democratic campaign for president, noting he shares "a lot of views" with Kennedy on the coronavirus pandemic. Both men have publicly sowed doubt in the efficacy the vaccine and pushed back on public health institutions for the response to the pandemic, largely citing mischaracterized or incomplete data.

The YouTube video features interviews with other D.C.-based organizations and addresses the issue of insider trading, in addition to a number of other topics. The interviews with Johnson — both in his office and outside the Capitol — appear to be edited for brevity in parts.

A spokeswoman for Johnson confirmed that Johnson's quotes in the video were accurate but condensed for time. She referred to a longer podcast interview from the YouTuber and also contended that Johnson's comments on JFK were not new.

During the interview, Johnson referenced the book "JFK and the Unspeakable" by James W. Douglass, which argues agencies were behind the assassination. Johnson has referenced the book on multiple occasions in recent months — Kennedy Jr. recommended it to him — though the book's argument has been a point of contention.

A review of the book by former Marquette University political science professor John McAdams described it as "utterly uncritical of any theory, any witness, and any factoid, as long as it implies conspiracy." McAdams said Douglass, the author, "fundamentally, doesn’t care about what really occurred."

Johnson in the video also claimed "divisiveness" was the biggest threat to America and lamented that there are people "that are just fomenting hate, that are exacerbating the divide rather than trying to heal this nation."

He reiterated his distrust of federal intelligence agencies during a time in which Republicans on Capitol Hill have accused agencies like the FBI of being "weaponized" against conservatives and indicated he believes his phones and computers have been tapped.

"I just kind of assume they are," he said.

Tommy Gerszewski, who is the YouTuber Tommy G, told the Journal Sentinel that he and his team of three went to Washington, D.C., to shoot the video in early June. He said they "spoke to ordinary people on the streets, political insiders, non-partisan left-leaning and also a right-leaning senator in Ron Johnson."

Gerszewski said he is a "political independent" and sought to get "all flavors of input" so that viewers could decide for themselves what they thought about the issues.

Tommy G's previous YouTube video focused on 'Kia Boys' car theft ring

Gerszewski created the 2022 video “Kia Boys Documentary (A Story of Teenage Car Theft),” which focused on Milwaukee and has so far attracted 6.8 million views.

With his latest video, Gerszewski said he wanted to explore "dark money in politics" and politicians who "allegedly engage in insider trading" as well as "what people think about Jeffrey Epstein."

Jonathan Wichmann, who ran as a Republican for lieutenant governor in 2022, helped Gerszewski connect with Johnson's office. Johnson's office said the senator agreed to the interview because Gerszewski is a constituent and expressed interest in the Joseph Project, a faith-based job training program with which Johnson is involved.

"I felt Tommy had a good platform and a way to bring the truth and expose the truth that people were responding to," Wichmann said.

Wichmann said he was interested in Tommy G making a "raw, unfiltered video where Ron Johnson could talk freely and not have anything spun at him or gotcha questions and people could make up their minds for themselves is this U.S. Senator working in the best interests of Wisconsin."

Gerszewski told the Journal Sentinel he walked into the meeting with Johnson with a "bad stereotype" in his head of what a senator would be, but found the Wisconsin lawmaker to "be a guy who is genuine doing the best to tell the truth, a guy who is passionate about trying to make things happen. And I respect all those things."

How does this latest video fit into Gerszewski's collection?

"Most of what I cover is the underworld," he said, whether in Las Vegas, Miami or Milwaukee. "I try to find my way into hard to access places and subcultures, observe them, figure out the truth and how they operate."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ron Johnson embraces conspiracy theories about JFK, Epstein deaths