Sen. Mitt Romney questions Sen. Ron Johnson's investigation of Joe Biden, says it has 'earmarks of a political exercise'

As he prepares to complete his Senate investigation into Joe Biden and Ukraine, Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson is making no secret of how he wants his report to be seen by voters in the 2020 election.

“What our investigations are uncovering, I think, will reveal that this is not somebody that we should be electing president of the United States,” Johnson said of Biden, the Democrat who’s leading President Donald Trump in the polls.

“I just don’t think Joe Biden ever should have run for president,” Johnson said in the same interview with Janesville, Wisconsin, radio station WCLO Tuesday.

Johnson’s public comments about his investigation are drawing fire from Democrats who accuse him of using the Senate committee he chairs to pursue a partisan probe aimed at helping Trump’s reelection bid.

And a committee member in Johnson’s own party echoed that criticism when the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs panel met Wednesday, days before the expected release of Johnson's report on Biden.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said the inquiry involving Biden has “had the earmarks of a political exercise, and I’m fearful that comments made in the media recently have only confirmed that perspective.”

Romney appeared to be referring to Johnson’s own recent statements about the investigation.

In a radio interview last month, Johnson said that exposing “corruption” in the Obama administration “would certainly help Donald Trump win reelection and certainly be pretty good, I would say, evidence about not voting for Vice President Biden.”

In a video conference with GOP supporters Monday, Johnson said of his forthcoming report, “Stay tuned. In about a week we're going to learn a whole lot more of Vice President Biden's unfitness for office.”