Thread by @capitolhunters

Really seems like something's off with the story of Speaker Mike Johnson's 'adopted son'. Johnson just discussed him again on Fox, and a new article subtly slams him ("drug[s]..theft since leaving [Johnson's] care") AND magically inserts wife Kelly 2 years before she met Mike. 1/

The New York Post falsely says that Mike Johnson and wife Kelly met 'adopted' son Michael James in 1996 as "newlyweds" doing "charity work", and took him in. But Johnson was single in 1996. He didn't meet Kelly til 1998 and they didn't marry til 1999. 2/
nypost.com/2023/11/03/new…

The Johnson's splashy wedding on May 1, 1999 made the papers. Mike Johnson had a best man, 7 attendants, 4 ushers and a ring-bearer. None were his 'son', who the NY Post says was living with him. Who doesn't include their 'son' in their wedding? 3/
newspapers.com/article/the-ti…

The Times-Picayune says Mike Johnson and Kelly Lary met in 1998 and fell in love instantly - "like a lightning bolt". Johnson's story: they bonded over planning to "name.. their first son Jack". No mention of the boy living with him - his first 'son'. 4/
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The NY Post says Michael James lived with the Johnsons til 2002, when they moved from Baton Rouge to Shreveport, leaving their teenage son behind "as he was then legally an adult". A year later James is in Florida, busted for having cocaine. No sign of help from his 'parents'. 5/

For people who claim to be "pro-family", the Johnsons are pretty stingy about who counts. When Mike Johnson's dad died in 2016, the obit listed his 14 grandchildren - none of them Michael James. Whatever their relationship was, James was not our Speaker's 'son'. (h/t @piperk) 6/

The more we hear about this relationship, the more questions arise. And the fact that Johnson is spinning on Fox News now, and feeding false stories to media, suggests the answers to those questions are going to be bad. 7/

Kelly Lary looked happy on her wedding day in Bossier City, nearly 250 miles from Baton Rouge. The newlyweds then went on a "honeymoon cruise to Cabo San Luis". Reporters: ask the hard questions. Where was their 17-year-old 'son' Michael James? Did they leave him behind? 8/

In 2001, Mike and Kelly Johnson went on GMA to talk about their "covenant wedding". No mention of "son" Michael James who supposedly was living with them. They showed wedding video - no "son" there. Pretty strange idea of family. (h/t @TropicalVertic1) 9/
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The video's not uploading but here's a screenshot so you can see: Mike and Kelly Johnson's wedding was lavish. No expense spared. Packed with friends and family - just not their ca. 15-year old 'son'. (Correction from Tweet #8 - their left-behind 'son' was even younger.) 10/

Here's part of that 2001 interview. Mike and Kelly Johnson talk about their covenant marriage. Kelly: "I wanted to know it was for a lifetime. It just gives me such peace and security". A year later, they dumped their teenage 'son' and moved on. 11/