May 31, 2024 - 18:03
By huffpost.com

Mike Johnson Suggests Supreme Court Intervene In Trump Hush Money Case

The Supreme Court should intervene in former president Donald Trump’s business fraud case, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Friday after Trump’s conviction.

“I do believe the Supreme Court should step in,” Johnson said in an appearance on Fox News the day after Trump was found guilty Thursday in a New York state court on 34 charges of falsifying business documents. Trump said Friday he would appeal his felony convictions, the first-ever for a former president.

“This is totally unprecedented. And it’s dangerous to our system,” Johnson said.

“This is diminishing the American people’s faith in our system of justice itself. And to maintain a republic, you have to have that. People have to believe that justice is fair, that there’s equal justice under law.”

Johnson said he thought at least some of the court’s justices were worried by the case.

“The justices on the court — I know many of them personally — I think they’re deeply concerned about that, as we are,” he said.

The verdict came after a weeks-long trial that saw former porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen testify about a hush money agreement to keep Daniels from publicly discussing an alleged sexual encounter between her and Trump.

The appeals process will likely be a long one, but Johnson, a constitutional lawyer who helped craft the rationale used by some Republicans for keeping Trump in office after he lost the 2020 election, said he was confident Trump would eventually win.

“This will be overturned, guys. There is no question about it. It’s just going to take some time to do it,” he said.