Liam Conner
washington – House Speaker Mike Johnson joined Donald Trump in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday to express support for the former president in the midst of his criminal trialwhich the speaker called a “hoax” and part of a broader “partisan witch hunt” against Trump.
“President Trump is innocent of these charges,” Johnson said, speaking outside the courtroom as proceedings unfolded inside.
The Louisiana Republican was the latest in a string of Republican members of Congress who have shown their support for the former president at his trial in New York in recent days. He said he came on his own to support Trump, whom he called a friend. Several other lawmakers also attended.
The speaker has emphasized his closeness to Trump in recent weeks as he faced a challenge to his speakership from a handful of conservatives at his conference. And the former president came to his aid when Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene proposed an instant vote to remove Johnson, offering her support for the speaker in a social media post.
Johnson said Tuesday that the trial aims to “keep him [Trump] out of the campaign trial.” He said that, as a former litigator, he is “disgusted” by what is happening to Trump.
MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
“People are losing faith in this country, in our institutions,” he said. “They are losing faith in our justice system. And the reason for that is because they see that it is being abused, as it is being done here in New York.”
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to reimbursements for a “hush money” payment to an adult film star before the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty.
The speaker argued that the charges were intentionally brought before Trump’s campaign to return to office, calling the effort a “ridiculous persecution that is not about justice” but “all about politics.”
“It is impossible for anyone to deny, looking objectively, that the judicial system in our country was used as a weapon against President Trump,” Johnson said.
The comments marked a stunning moment as the Speaker of the House, who is second in line to the presidency, questioned the integrity of the judicial system.
Along with Johnson, Gov. Doug Burgum, Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Reps. Byron Donalds and Cory Mills were also in attendance Tuesday.
“I have a lot of surrogates and they are speaking very well,” Trump said Tuesday morning before entering the courtroom. “They come from all over Washington, they’re highly respected, and they think this is the biggest scam they’ve ever seen.”
Fin Gómez, Olivia Rinaldi and Kelsey Walsh contributed reporting.
