‘Tell me this isn’t so’

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana)’s decision to appear in former President Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan this week has sparked fresh opposition from some House Republicans, and the House Republican lawmakers have questioned why Mr. Johnson would speak out so prominently in a case involving his alleged affair with Mr. Trump. porn star.

Republican lawmakers, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic, said Johnson, a devout Southern Baptist who built a career around fighting for Christian values ​​and moral conservatism, simply said Trump was They accuse the party of tarnishing the party’s image of family values ​​in order to co-opt the party’s family values. The party’s presumptive presidential candidate.

“It’s clear that Johnson thinks it’s in his political interest to give the most vile, restrained, pornographic testimony in court. I think he’s going to have to answer for that,” House Republicans said. one told The Hill.

“It seems like a strange place for him to be told exactly what he says.”

In some ways, Mr. Johnson’s visit to New York this week comes as little surprise.

The speaker is a longtime supporter of Trump, endorsing him early in the Republican primaries and leading a House Republican conference overwhelmingly loyal to the former president. Trump also supported Johnson when he faced a recent threat of expulsion on Capitol Hill, perhaps saving the gavel.

But Mr. Johnson has also shaped his professional identity around his deeply rooted evangelical beliefs and fight for traditional conservative values, both before and after arriving on Capitol Hill. Both are being challenged by the allegations against Mr. Trump.

This striking dichotomy has not gone unnoticed by some in Johnson’s own House of Commons, who recently made a public appearance at the scene of Trump’s hush money trial, with his head hanging. I am troubled by the chairman’s decision to intervene.

“I was watching a news show and I saw him in the background and I thought, ‘Tell me that’s not true,’ because the fact that Mike Johnson is a devout Christian is debatable. Because there’s no one,” said another Republican, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “That’s not even up for debate.”

A third Republican congressman agreed: “It doesn’t look good at all.”

The first Republican to speak to The Hill referred to comments Johnson made in 2022. was discovered last year The website says he and his son use the app Covenant Eyes to monitor each other’s porn intake. The platform is said to “empower people to live porn-free lives with confidence.” “I’m proud, but my son is a blank slate,” the Louisiana Republican said at the time.

“Was he supposed to report? [the New York visit] To my son,” the congressman said jokingly.

“If you go there and talk about other trials, that’s different. It seems different than this trial,” the Republican lawmaker added, citing President Trump’s handling of classified documents and his defeat in the 2020 election. He hinted that the criminal cases related to President Trump’s efforts to remain in power are separate.

“This is exactly what is being discussed among many Republicans this week.”

Johnson has defended his visit to Manhattan, saying it had nothing to do with the extramarital affair, which Trump denies, and had nothing to do with Trump’s trial.

Mr Johnson steered the proceedings on Tuesday when he was questioned over the fact that the case focused on an alleged affair and subsequent hush money payments.

“They have weaponized and politicized the American judicial system to go after their political opponents. It is highly inappropriate,” the chairman said. “As a former litigator and lawyer myself, I think this is outrageous, and I certainly think it was appropriate for me to state that on that basis.”

Johnson’s House critics have been reluctant to voice their concerns publicly, but outside the chamber, Trump’s most vocal Republican critics have slammed Johnson’s decision.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), a prominent Trump critic, said, “I think it’s a little bit humiliating to appear before a court, especially one that’s discussing allegations of payments to porn stars.” said. this week.

“What’s there to do around here besides watch some stupid porn trial?” I mean, this is ridiculous,” echoed Rep. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who is also no fan of the former president.

Another Trump critic, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), was even more scathing, accusing Johnson of abandoning his promise to promote high moral principles.

“I have to admit I’m surprised @SpeakerJohnson wants to join the ‘cheated on his wife with a porn star’ club” Cheney Posted this week on social platform X. “I don’t think he’s really interested in teaching young people morals after all.”

The New York case is at the center of the case in 2006, when President Trump and first lady Melania Trump met with Stormy Daniels, a porn star who was less than half his age at the time, shortly after his wife, Melania Trump, gave birth to Trump’s youngest son, Barron. It is suspected that he had a sexual relationship with Mr. A decade later, prosecutors said Mr. Trump paid Mr. Daniels $130,000 in hush money to keep the incident from negatively impacting his 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr. Trump denies all charges. But the trial ended after Daniels leaked a ludicrous version of the alleged affair and Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, detailed his claims that Trump orchestrated the payments for purely political reasons. captivated the nation for several weeks.

The trial has sparked protests at the Capitol by President Trump’s Republican supporters, many of whom have said in recent days that it is a political witch hunt aimed solely at damaging Trump’s electoral chances. and paraded all the way to Manhattan in support of the former president. November.

Most of these members are Freedom Caucus leaders such as Rep. Bob Good (Virginia) and Rep. Andy Biggs (Arizona) or hardliners such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (Florida). They represent the far right of the Republican conference, including the agitators. and Lauren Boebert (Colorado).

But on Tuesday, Mr. Johnson joined Mr. Trump’s inner circle, along with Rep. Byron Donald (R-Fla.), North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) and former primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Both have been floated as Trump’s running mate. Johnson became the highest-ranking lawmaker to attend alongside the former president in Manhattan.

“President Trump is innocent of these charges,” Johnson declared outside court.

Indeed, many Republicans defended Mr. Johnson’s decision to go to New York, arguing that prosecutors had a weak basis for basing their decision on the testimony of Mr. Cohen, who has a history of lying under oath to Congress and banks.

“I have no problem with him going up there,” Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., said of Johnson. “He’s our presidential candidate, and he’s on trial in the weirdest, stupidest lawsuit I’ve ever seen.”

However, when asked about the details of the case, Republicans went out of their way to point out that they were defending the former president from the process, not necessarily the charges themselves.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with what he’s charged with. I think it’s just the way the trial itself was conducted and the fact that there was a lot of unfairness going on,” said Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-S.C. , Alabama) said.

Democrats have argued that it is irresponsible for the speaker, who is second in line to the president, to disrespect the nation’s judicial system and thereby undermine public trust in a fundamental institution that has long been a source of national pride.

“It’s disappointing to see someone in the position of Speaker of the House speak negatively of an independent criminal investigation,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. Ta. “But that’s the price House Republicans have to pay. And that’s specifically the price Speaker Johnson has to pay for getting President Trump on board.”

Democrats are not the only ones making such criticisms. Another House Republican, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to candidly discuss the speaker’s trip, expressed concern that Mr. Johnson, a constitutional lawyer, was casting doubt on the judiciary.

“What I really didn’t like was the fact that he stepped down as a court official and trashed the process, the courts, the judiciary. It’s unfair,” the Republican said. “And as a court official, you have a duty to uphold that.

“It’s one thing for Mr. Trump, who is not a lawyer, to do that. It’s another thing entirely for members of the bar.”