MARGARET BRENNAN: Back in 2021, you were the lawmaker who circulated the legal briefing known as the Texas amicus brief challenging the 2020 election outcome in a number of states which, by CBS editorial standards, makes you an election denier. So…
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE MIKE JOHNSON: That's nonsense.
BRENNAN: So, well, that- can I get you on the record on that?
JOHNSON: I've always been consistent on the record. Did you read the brief? Did you get a chance to read what we filed with the Supreme Court?
BRENNAN: Well- I… I have read extensively some criticisms of that.
JOHNSON: You’ve read commentary on the brief but not what we submitted to the Court.
BRENNAN: But you recognize that President Biden won the 2020 election. Can you just put that aside as an issue?
JOHNSON: President Biden was certified as the winner of the election, he took the Oath of Office, he's been the president for three years. What I -- the argument that we presented to the Court, which is our only avenue to do so, was that the Constitution was clearly violated in the 2020 election. It’s Article 2, Section 1, and anyone can Google and read it for themselves. The system by which you choose electors to elect the President of the United States must be done by the individual states and the system must be ratified by the state legislatures. That is language- plain language out of the constitution.
BRENNAN: So you have issues…
JOHNSON: Yes.
BRENNAN: …with the validity of the 2020 election?
JOHNSON: The Constitution was violated in the run up to the 2020 election. Not always in bad faith, but in the aftermath of Covid, many states changed their election laws in ways that violated that plain language. That's just a fact.