Tried in New York, Donald Trump, who aims to make his return to the White House, does not have the right to comment on the witnesses. It was therefore his Republican allies who took over, displaying their support for the ex-president very publicly from the court.
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Elected officials and right-wing personalities followed one another in Manhattan to use the terminology of the real estate magnate and denounce a trial they believe is political.
On Tuesday, it was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, who came to castigate a justice system that he said was “instrumentalized” by the opposing camp.
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This intervention in an ongoing legal procedure came as a surprise, Mr. Johnson being one of the most important officials in the American state.
“The judicial system is using all the tools at its disposal right now to punish one president and protect another,” assured the number two in the order of succession to the presidency, referring to Mr. Trump’s Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
As for the witness currently being heard by the courts, Mr. Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, he is “clearly someone who only has personal revenge in mind,” Mr. Johnson told the court. press.
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“No one should believe a word he says,” he insisted.
On Tuesday, in addition to Mr. Johnson, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (tipped to be Mr. Trump’s running mate) made the trip to New York.
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“I have a lot of lieutenants and they express themselves very well,” the former president told the press when asked if he was leading the attacks.
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“They come from all over Washington, they are very respected and they think this is the biggest scam they have ever seen,” he added.
Restrictions
The appearances of Donald Trump, 77, in court were an opportunity for several of his followers – perhaps aspiring to a position in a future government, or even that of vice president – to show their loyalty: they can say which he cannot, due to an order from the judge.
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Mr. Trump is prohibited from making any public comments about potential witnesses, jurors or court personnel. The families of the judge and prosecutors are also supposed to be out of reach.
Restrictions that do not apply to those close to him.
Ohio Senator JD Vance – also tipped as his running mate – attacked on Monday the political orientation of the judge’s daughter, in addition to describing Michael Cohen as a “criminal”.
As for Senator Tommy Tuberville, who also went to Manhattan, he questioned, without further details, the nationality of the people present in the hearing room, which was interpreted by the campaign team of Joe Biden as an attack on the jury.
Mr. Tuberville told Fox Business that he was not invited to the court by the Trump team, and that he “just came” with Mr. Vance.
In a dissonant voice, Liz Cheney, who was one of the Republican leaders in Congress before becoming one of Donald Trump’s main critics, said on president.
“I must admit that I am surprised that (Mr. Johnson) wants to be part of the ‘I cheated on my wife with a porn star’ club,” she wrote.
“I guess he’s not that concerned with instilling moral values in our young people, after all,” she squeaked.
