Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said he was stunned that House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared at former President Trump’s secret trial in New York this week, criticizing House Republicans who seemed greedy for the power.
Schiff was asked by MSNBC’s Alex Wagner on Thursday night what he thought about the pack of Republican lawmakers who traveled to Manhattan to support the former president while he was in court.
“I have so many thoughts and let me start with the speaker because I have to say, I was flabbergasted that he would make that pilgrimage and stand outside the courthouse and lie about what was going on inside the building,” he said. Schiff said.
“It’s bad enough that he doesn’t have the self-respect he feels he needs to kiss the ring in such a public and degrading way, but also that he denigrates the justice system, that he makes the knowingly false claim that this trial was designed to keep Trump out of the campaign trial, he knows better,” Schiff continued.
Johnson’s court appearance on Tuesday sparked controversy in the House. In an interview on Wednesday, the House speaker defended his actions, calling Trump’s trial “an atrocity.”
Many other House Republicans, several senators and even former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy showed up to support the presumptive GOP presidential nominee and said the trial is interfering with Trump’s campaign. The trial kept Trump in New York for much of this week, preventing him from campaigning across the country.
Schiff was asked about his recent vote to save Johnson from impeachment within his own party. He said he doesn’t regret voting to keep Johnson.
The Democrat said he voted for two reasons. First, the Chamber needs a leader to be able to get things done. Second, he said he didn’t believe it was right to remove him because of his aid to Ukraine.
“So for both reasons, I have no regrets. But I have to say it’s still hard to take it when you see him do what he did, in front of the court,” Schiff said.
He went a step further, saying that no one in the House Republican conference has “any real commitment” to the Constitution or a justice system.
“It’s all about maintaining power, gaining power and not having a big degradation before… your supreme leader,” Shiff said.
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