Congress should hold additional hearings on the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson asserted Monday while venturing into long-debunked conspiracy theories alleging the government’s involvement in the tragedy.
Speaking with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, Wisconsin’s senior senator said there are “an awful lot of questions” surrounding one of the deadliest attacks on the United States. Johnson, R-Oshkosh, cited the 2020 film which questions the official story behind the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7 in New York.
“There are a host of questions that I want and I will be asking quite honestly, now that my eyes have been opened up,” Johnson said.
Johnson, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, also criticized the “corrupt investigation” carried out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. found that Building 7, a 47-story office building that fell several hours after planes were flown into the nearby Twin Towers, collapsed due to prolonged fire because of extensive damage and inadequate water pressure.
“I don’t know that you can find structural engineers other than the ones that have the corrupt investigation inside NIST, that would say that that thing didn’t come down in any other way than a controlled demolition,” Johnson asserted.
“Had a water supply for the automatic sprinkler system been available and had the sprinkler system operated as designed, it is likely that fires in (Building 7) would have been controlled and the collapse prevented,” the report states.
Asked if there will be additional hearings on the buildings’ collapse, Johnson said “I think so,” adding that he has spoken with former U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon, who has urged President Donald Trump to open a new investigation into the World Trade Center attack.
“Hopefully now, with this administration, I think President Trump should have some interest, being a New Yorker himself,” Johnson said. “What actually happened on 9/11? What do we know? What is being covered up? My guess is there’s an awful lot being covered up in terms of what the American government knows about 9/11.”
Johnson’s spokesperson Kiersten Pels said a potential hearing will depend on what information the senator’s office receives on the matter.