US House Speaker Mike Johnson attacked the US judicial system on Tuesday as he became the highest-ranking Republican to appear in court with Donald Trump, echoing unsubstantiated or disproved arguments made by the former president and his allies.
It was a remarkable moment in modern American politics. The powerful House speaker signaled a turn by his political party against the federal and state legal systems and demonstrated even more loyalty to Trump, who is accused of organizing secret payments to a pornographic actress to hide negative stories during his successful 2016 presidential campaign.
Johnson, a lawyer who is second in line to the presidency, called the judicial system “corrupt” and the case against Trump a “sham,” while also claiming, without evidence, that the special counsel who charged Trump in two separate cases tampered with evidence. he also attacked the credibility of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and mediator, who began his second day of testimony in the former president’s secret trial.
The Trump campaign has lined up allies in recent days to appear in a New York courtroom to attack witnesses and others whom Trump has been prevented by a judge’s gag order from criticizing themselves.
Also with the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee on Tuesday were U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — both considered possible vice presidential candidates — as well as former Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, one of Trump’s current main surrogates.
U.S. Senators JD Vance of Ohio and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama were among those who appeared in court on Monday.
Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said Monday that he showed up last week at the invitation of Trump senior adviser Susie Wiles. The campaign said others have volunteered to come to New York.
His presence and comments critical of the process and its participants allowed Trump and his allies to amplify their message without risking another explicit violation of a gag order.
Johnson specifically criticized three people Trump is prohibited from insulting. He attacked Cohen as “a man who is clearly on a mission of personal revenge,” said lead prosecutor Matthew Colangelo “recently received more than $10,000 in payments from the Democratic National Committee” and said the daughter of Judge Juan M. Merchan made “millions of dollars” doing online fundraising for Democrats.
Johnson has used the bully pulpit of the House speaker’s office in Washington to attack the US judicial system, criticizing the courts as biased against the former president, claiming the case is politically motivated by Democrats and insisting that Trump did nothing wrong .
And Johnson, who depends on Trump’s support to keep the speaker’s gavel, is far from alone. A growing number of Republicans have turned on the US justice system in a scathing attack as they march to court to support the indicted former president.
Johnson aimed to strengthen his alliance with Trump as the Speaker of the House has faced criticism from his own House caucus, including a failed impeachment attempt by a fellow Trump supporter, US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of the Georgia.
Johnson made an appearance with the former president at his Mar-a-Lago club last month to announce new House legislation that would require proof of citizenship to vote, echoing Trump’s baseless claims that Democrats are complicit with immigrants who enter the US illegally to influence elections.
There is no indication that noncitizens vote in significant numbers in federal elections or that they will do so in the future.
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Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Lisa Mascaro in Washington and Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.
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Meg Kinnard can be contacted at
