Washington, D.C. -  U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson today said today that the attempt to discredit him with a fabricated “house party” announcement represents exactly the kind of tactic he had dedicated himself to eradicating from the political landscape.

“Anyone with even a casual knowledge of my work in Congress would immediately recognize this for what it is – a juvenile and underhanded hoax,” Rep. Johnson said." “My apologies go out to the people of the 15th Congressional District who have to put up with this kind of scurrilous attack.”

The State of the Union house party announcement was posted on the Republican National Committee website earlier this week. The announcement listed Rep. Johnson as a guest at the Bloomington event and listed the sponsor as a Danial Johnson. Events advertised included a “Jesse Jackson piñata and a dunk tank featuring Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The RNC pulled the announcement Monday as soon as it was determined to be a hoax. An apology was issued to Rep. Johnson for the lack of verification. Rep. Johnson has no affiliation with a Danial Johnson and the telephone numbers listed were determined to be inactive.

At the request of Rep. Rahm Emanuel, a statement from the Democratic National Committee that criticized the party announcement was removed from the DNC website. Rep. Emanuel is chairman of the Democratic National Committee Congressional Caucus.

“It is unfortunate that the RNC allowed this kind of sophomoric and scurrilous posting to fall through the cracks,” Rep. Johnson said. “It is even more disappointing that the DNC would choose to exploit an obvious fabrication.

“This is particularly saddening in that this kind of episode is exactly the sort of thing we have sought to work against in the Center Aisle Caucus. It is demeaning to my critics in particular but in the broader sense cheapens the level of civil discourse we have sought to achieve,” Rep. Johnson said.

Rep. Johnson, R-Urbana, joined with Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., a year ago in inaugurating the Center Aisle Caucus as one means of improving bipartisan dialogue. The caucus now has approximately 50 members.

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