Photo by: Chip Somodevilla/ Staff/ Getty

Who is Jeh Johnson? Before now, he kept a low profile in Washington, D.C. That was the case, until he made the news recently for boldly claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin had something to do with tampering during the 2016 election. To learn more about him and his testimony, take a look at our Jeh Johnson wiki.

Jeh Johnson’s Age and Early Life

Jeh (pronounced Jay) Johnson was born Jeh Charles Johnson on September 11, 1957 to Jeh Johnson Sr. and Norma, in New York. He graduated Morehouse College in 1979 and then went on to graduate from Columbia Law School in 1982, where he received nine honorary degrees. Jeh Johnson’s ethnicity has also been a topic of some debate. Though it is unclear what nationality his parents actually were, or descended from, we do know that his grandfather was black, often making him a target of communist witch hunts that were held in the late ’40s, during the postwar era. Because he appears to be of mixed race, many are curious about his heritage. He is part of the Democratic Party and he witnessed the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which occurred on his birthday.

Jeh Johnson’s DHS Position

Johnson served as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security from December 23, 2013 to January 20, 2017. He held the third largest Department of the U.S. government and the department was responsible for counterterrorism, aviation security, cyber security, border security, biological and nuclear threats, and much more. Jeh Johnson’s net worth is unavailable at this time, but reportedly others in his position would have six-figure salaries.

Jeh Johnson’s Wife

Jeh’s wife is named Susan and they have two children together: Natalie Johnson and Jeh Charles Johnson Jr. Not much is known about the former Homeland Security leader’s private life, except that his work is more well-known than anything. (You don’t get to the top of Homeland Security without knowing how to keep more than a few secrets.)

His Late Grandfather was a Target

Jeh’s paternal great-grandfather (Charles H. Johnson) was born into slavery in 1860. His grandfather, Charles S. Johnson, was a distinguished sociologist who was also president of Fisk university after world War II. It was considered a safe place for black intellectuals in the Jim Crow era, but that wasn’t always the case. Jeh’s grandfather was a target of the communist conspiracy theorists and witch hunts that occurred after the war. Jeh’s grandfather was accused of being part of the Communist Party, but the FBI found nothing on him.

“Basically in the late ’40s and early ’50s, if you were a black intellectual with a PhD, you were also suspected of being a communist,” Jeh told the LA Times.

Jeh has experienced his own issues with the law, and reflected on them at a time when police officers were being killed in Dallas and Baton Rouge.

“I’ve had my share of unpleasant encounters with law enforcement when I was much younger,” he said on CNN this month. But, he added, “incidents of profiling, of excessive force, are not a reflection of the larger law enforcement community…. I think we have to remember that, especially now that tensions are so high.”

Jeh Johnson’s Testimony

The Russia investigation is still ongoing, and now it’s Johnson’s turn to testify. The former DHS head testified on Wednesday that he believed Putin to be involved in the hack. He exaplained that he offered to help when he heard of the hacks later on.

“In 2016 the Russian government, at the direction of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin himself, orchestrated cyber attacks on our nation for the purpose of influencing our election — plain and simple. Now, the key question for the president and Congress is: What are we going to do to protect the American people and their democracy from this kind of thing in the future?” Johnson said in his opening remarks.

The investigation is far from over, but so far things don’t look too good for the Trump administration as the water keeps getting hotter!