Republicans Flock to Court to Curry Favor with Trump

AFP/APP

Washington: As Donald Trump faces a historic criminal trial, senior Republicans are beating a path to his New York courtroom to hammer home the narrative of a witch hunt and launch proxy attacks on witnesses he is barred from targeting.

A succession of US lawmakers, state-level officials and other figures with designs on a job in the presidential candidate’s next administration have made the pilgrimage to circle the wagons and question the legitimacy of the proceedings.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson — who is second in line to the presidency — raised eyebrows Tuesday when he became the latest senior Republican to claim outside court that the system was being “weaponized” against Trump.

In a highly unusual intervention by a senior elected US official into ongoing criminal proceedings, Johnson sounded much like the defendant himself as he decried a “sham of a trial.”

“I do have a lot of surrogates and they are speaking very beautifully,” Trump deflected as he was asked by the press pack outside court if he was directing the attacks.

“They come from all over Washington, and they’re highly respected and they think this is the biggest scam they’ve ever seen.”

Trump — who faces Democratic President Joe Biden in six months in a rerun of the 2020 election — is accused of falsifying accounts to cover up a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his ultimately successful 2016 campaign.

As the trial plays out, the 77-year-old former reality TV star has been mulling an extensive list of potential vice presidents, although he has said an announcement will not come until much closer to the July Republican National Convention.