Friday, 15 November 2024

Mike Johnson: ‘Everybody’ Can See Dems Are Prosecuting Trump ‘To Keep Him Off The Campaign Trail’


NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 14: U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) addresses the media outside of Manhattan Criminal Court on behalf of former President Donald Trump on May 14, 2024 in New York City. Former U.S. President Donald Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) spoke on Tuesday outside the Manhattan courtroom where Donald Trump’s hush-money trial is taking place, saying “it is painfully obvious” that the presumptive Republican nominee is being unfairly targeted by Democrats ahead of the 2024 election.

Johnson joins multiple Republican lawmakers — including Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), JD Vance (R-OH), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) — who have shown up at the courthouse in solidarity with Trump in recent days. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), North Dakota Republican Governor Doug Burgum, and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy were all in attendance at the courthouse on Tuesday.

“This is the fifth week that President Trump has been in court for this sham of a trial,” Johnson told reporters. “They are doing this intentionally to keep him here, to keep him off of the campaign trail. And I think everybody in the country can see that for what it is.”

Manhattan Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an alleged attempt to cover up hush-money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election cycle. The former president is forced to be in the Manhattan courtroom four days a week as he campaigns for president.

Trump has also been hit with 10 fines for violating a gag order imposed on him by Judge Juan Merchan. The order is meant to prevent Trump from talking about jurors, attorneys, court staff, and the judge’s family during the trial, and Merchan threatened to put Trump behind bars if he violates the gag order again.

During his remarks to the press on Tuesday morning, Johnson slammed the hush-money case against Trump, saying it’s an example of why the American people are “losing faith in our system of justice.”

“I’m an attorney. I’m a former litigator myself,” he said. “And I am disgusted by what is happening here, what is being done here to our entire system of justice overall. The people are losing faith right now in this country, in our institutions. They’re losing faith in our system of justice. The reason for that is they see it being abused as it is being done here in New York.”

Johnson pointed to the Justice Department previously investigating Trump’s alleged hush-money payments and choosing not to pursue any charges.

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“Eight years later, suddenly they’ve resurrected this case. They brought it back,” he added. “Why is that? Well, just apply common sense. Everyone can see. It is painfully obvious. We are now six months out from election day. That’s the reason why they brought these charges here and across the country.”


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