Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., on Wednesday walked back earlier comments he made about having an "informant" corroborate reports of FBI anti-Trump "secret society" meetings being held after then President-elect Trump won the 2016 election.

Johnson on Wednesday acknowledged not knowing what the informant meant regarding the alleged off-site gatherings, according to CNN, saying his remarks were based on both the informant and text messages exchanged between two FBI officials accused of being biased against the Trump administration.

Johnson added that the focus of the House Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the panel which the Wisconsin Republican heads, would now be on "the Clinton email scandal," per CNN.

Ron Johnson tells us his “secret society” comments were based on an informant and the words used in a Strzok-Page text exchange. He acknowledges not knowing what they meant - and says the focus now on his committee is the Clinton email scandal. — Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 24, 2018



Rumors of a "secret society" within the agency that opposed Trump emerged this week with the release of more text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, former members of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.

"There is a text exchange between these two FBI agents, these supposed-to-be fact-centric FBI agents saying, 'Perhaps this is the first meeting of the secret society,'" Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., told Fox News Monday, referring to a missive sent between the pair the day after the election.

Johnson followed Gowdy's appearance on Fox News Tuesday, claiming details provided to him by his informant was evidence of "more than bias, but corruption at the highest levels of the FBI."

The Justice Department is currently reviewing why five months worth of messages between Strzok and Page are missing.