On Tuesday, May 14, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, delivered a speech outside the Manhattan court, criticizing the “hush money case” against former President Trump. This made him the highest-ranking lawmaker to visit Trump in New York during his ongoing legal proceedings.
According to the Congressional Hill newspaper, Johnson appeared alongside Trump in the courthouse corridors and later made statements outside the courtroom. He harshly criticized the case against the former president as “election interference,” alleging that prosecutors were attempting to prevent Trump from participating in the election campaign against President Biden.
“This is President Trump’s fifth week of facing such a false trial,” Johnson said. “They are intentionally keeping him here to prevent him from engaging in campaign activities.”
“I believe everyone in this country can see that,” he said. “President Trump is innocent of these charges.”
While Trump is trapped in the Manhattan court facing the “hush money case” trial, Republican lawmakers have flocked around the former president. Representatives Byron Donalds and Cory Mills also appeared in court on Tuesday, standing shoulder to shoulder with Trump.
Senators JD Vance and Tommy Tuberville, along with Representative Nicole Malliotakis, also traveled to New York to support Trump and made similar speeches outside the courthouse the day before.
As the Speaker of the House, Johnson’s presence to support Trump indicates that despite Trump’s legal disputes, congressional Republicans continue to stand by the former president.
Less than a week ago, Johnson easily thwarted efforts led by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to impeach him in the House. Some attribute this outcome in part to Trump’s public support for Johnson.
Last month, Trump issued a statement at his Mar-a-Lago estate, saying, “I support the Speaker,” and urging Republicans through social media posts to vote to table the impeachment of the Speaker.
Johnson told reporters that as a “friend” of the former president, he volunteered to attend Trump’s trial on Tuesday.
“I called President Trump and told him I wanted to stand here personally to point out that this is a mockery of justice,” Johnson said. “I believe everyone across America can see that.”
“President Trump is my friend, and I want to be here to support him,” Johnson said. “Because I am one of hundreds of millions of people and a concerned citizen about this.”
As Johnson arrived, former Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen appeared for the second day as a witness for the prosecution. Johnson, like his Republican colleagues, directed criticism towards Cohen.
“This individual is clearly settling personal scores, and it is well known that he has a history of perjury,” Johnson said. “No one should believe anything he says today.”
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the reimbursement of $130,000 in “hush money” paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump denies all charges.
Trump is also under a gag order that prohibits him from criticizing witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court personnel, or judges’ families.
Johnson called this gag order “unprecedentedly absurd,” arguing that it overrides Trump’s constitutional right to defend himself during the most critical moments without being politically smeared by his harshest critics.
Later on Tuesday, an appeals court upheld the gag order.
The Speaker also pointed to other legal cases involving Trump, including a federal investigation into Trump’s retention of classified documents. Earlier this month, Judge Aileen Cannon indefinitely postponed this case involving special prosecutor Jack Smith’s investigation.
“This is a multi-year partisan ‘witch hunt’,” Johnson said regarding the “hush money case” trial. “We have seen the same in the classified docs case. That case is particularly egregious, as the trial has been indefinitely postponed.”
Johnson stated that he is working with the House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan and the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer to “take actions to curb special prosecutor Jack Smith’s abuse of power.”
“We have a responsibility in Congress to oversee and hold them accountable,” he said. “These politically motivated trials are a disgrace. It is election interference.”
“The American people will not allow this situation to continue,” he continued. “Election day is fast approaching. We will continue to expose all of this in Congress because we have a constitutional duty.”