House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Friday that the Supreme Court “should intervene” in former President Trump’s appeal following the presumptive GOP presidential nominee’s conviction on 34 criminal charges in his case of silence in New York.
“I believe the Supreme Court should intervene,” Johnson said during his appearance on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.”
He later added that the judges of the country’s highest court, “many” of whom he knows personally, are “deeply concerned about this, as are we. So, I think they will clarify this, but it will take a while.”
Trump was found guilty of all 34 criminal charges on Thursday in Manhattan by a 12-person jury.
The presumptive Republican nominee was convicted of falsifying business records to hide alleged affairs during his run for president in 2016. Judge Juan Merchan said the sentencing hearing will be on July 11, just four days before Trump is officially nominated as the Republican candidate. party at the Republican National Committee convention.
The former president must be convicted first and then he and his legal team must appeal the case. Johnson said the events were “unprecedented” and undermined public confidence in the justice system.
The House leader’s comments about the justices’ intervention come as the Supreme Court’s most conservative members face scrutiny over whether they can impartially consider decisions regarding Trump and the 2020 election.
Justice Samuel Alito came under fire after an initial report in The New York Times showed an upside-down American flag, a symbol of the movement that argues the election was stolen from Trump, being displayed outside his Virginia home.
Later, an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, another symbol associated with the conservative movement, was seen at his New Jersey beach house, the Times reported. Alito has been asked to recuse himself from cases related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. He refused, saying the facts “do not meet the conditions for refusal.”
Justice Clarence Thomas, another conservative justice, also faced calls to recuse himself from the Jan. 6 cases due to his wife, Ginni, participating in political activities believed to have led to the attack on the Capitol.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
