Speaker of the House Mike Johnson attended former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York on Tuesday.
The Republican congressional leader addressed reporters outside the courtroom, where Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen took the stand for the second day.
“This is the fifth week that President Trump has been in court for this sham of a trial. They are doing this intentionally to keep him here and keep him off of the campaign trail,” Johnson said, per The Hill. “And I think everybody in the country can see that for what it is.”
“President Trump is innocent of these charges,” he added.
Johnson is part of a wave of Republicans who have traveled to New York to attend the trial.
Ohio Senator J.D. Vance and Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville attended the trial on Monday. Vance was critical of Cohen, who was previously convicted of tax evasion, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.
“This guy is a convicted felon who admitted in his testimony that he secretly recorded his former employer, that he only did it once, allegedly, and that this was supposed to help Donald Trump,” said the senator to reporters. “Does any reasonable, sensible person believe anything that Michael Cohen says? I don’t think that they should.”
Vance speculated that Cohen’s testimony “is going to hurt with any reasonable juror.”
Vance is rumored to be on Trump’s shortlist as a running mate, but he insisted he was attending the trial “for the simple reason to show support for a friend,” per the Washington Examiner. The Ohio senator published a multi-part Twitter thread on Cohen’s testimony.
Tuberville told the media he was “disappointed in the courtroom” and the references to “Mr. Trump.”
“He is former President Trump. Give him some respect,” Tuberville said. “That courtroom is depressing. … Mental anguish is trying to be pushed on the Republican candidate for the president of the United States. That’s all this is.”
In addition to Johnson, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Congressman Byron Donalds, pharmaceutical entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Congressman Corey Mills of Florida all appeared at the trial on Tuesday.
Burgum called the trial “election interference” during a press conference.
“It’s tying up the president from being out on the campaign trail,” Burgum said, per the North Dakota Monitor. “And of course, we know from the polls that have come out … President Trump is leading all over the country.”
“The American people have already acquitted Donald Trump,” he continued. “The sooner that this scam trial can be concluded, the sooner the president can get back to getting out and campaigning and talking to the American people about the issues that matter.”
Trump has been charged with allegedly falsifying business records. Prosecutors have accused the presumptive Republican presidential nominee of trying to cover up $130,000 of payments distributed to Cohen. Cohen allegedly used the money to pay off pornography performer Stormy Daniels who has denied in writing having an affair with Trump.
