Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) came out in strong defense of Donald Trump as the former president returned to a New York courthouse for the fifth week of his hush money trial, with the top House Republican decrying the charges as being politically motivated and corrupt.
Trump entered the Manhattan Criminal Court while being flanked by a number of GOP allies such as Johnson, who sought to serve as a voice for the former president as he must comply with a gag order prohibiting him from criticizing witnesses. Johnson used the opportunity to denounce Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney who arrived for his second day on the stand to testify against the former president.
“This is a man who is clearly on a mission for personal revenge and who is widely known as a witness who has trouble with the truth,” Johnson said of Cohen outside the courthouse. “No one should believe a word he says today.”
Johnson pointed to Cohen pleading guilty in 2018 to tax evasion and lying to Congress about work he did on a since-abandoned project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Trump’s attorneys are expected to lean on that, as well as other alleged federal crimes, to chip away at his credibility.
“He lied to Congress, and he lied to the IRS. He lied to federal election officials. Even Cohen’s own lawyer testified to a grand jury that he is not reliable,” Johnson said. “So there’s nothing that he presents here. That should be given any weight at all by a jury and certainly not this judge.”
The New York case focuses on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree and marks the first trial of a former president in U.S. history. The charges came shortly after Cohen testified before a grand jury last year detailing his 2018 conviction when he pleaded guilty to paying two women who accused Trump of sexual affairs to be silent, including adult film star Stormy Daniels.
As part of the scheme, Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 and was later reimbursed by the Trump Organization. Manhattan prosecutors later opened an investigation into whether Trump falsified business records to list the reimbursement as a legal expense.
Johnson decried the case altogether, arguing Trump is innocent because he does not handle financial matters for his company.
“The crime that they are accusing President Trump of is falsification of business records. I think everybody knows he is not the bookkeeper for his company,” Johnson said. “President Trump is innocent of these charges.”
Instead, Johnson reiterated claims from other top Trump allies that the criminal trial is being used to interfere with the 2024 election as the former president prepares to face President Joe Biden in a rematch for the White House.
“Anyone with common sense can understand what is happening here. In the midst of all this nonsense and corruption, they have placed a ridiculous and unprecedented gag order on President Trump,” Johnson said. “He is soon to be officially the nominee of one of the major parties in our country running for president and they have him tied up here in this ridiculous prosecution. That is not about justice. It’s all about politics and everybody can see that.”
Johnson’s defense of Trump comes as the two have recently come to the other’s aid over the last several months. The former president came out publicly in support of Johnson as he faced a high-profile effort to remove him from the speakership, providing him with enough cover to avoid such an ouster.
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The pair have also appeared alongside each other for fundraisers at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and the two have even crafted legislation together seeking to make it illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. That bill came after the pair held a joint press conference last month to voice concerns about election integrity ahead of the November election.
A handful of other GOP allies were present at the courthouse on Tuesday, including Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who are both considered to be contenders as Trump’s running mate. Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy were also there.