Many of former President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress, as well as his rumored running mate, have spoken out in exclusive interviews with the Daily Caller about the “depressing” and gruesome situation in the former president’s courtroom in Manhattan. He talked about the scene.
Since Trump’s trial began in April, many supporters in the House and Senate have visited him in court to show their support. New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchand’s speech control order restricts Trump and his campaign. Governing orders hobble Trump’s campaign and Republican candidates talk about people like Matthew Colangelo, who spent two years at the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Biden administration and was the lead prosecutor in the case. It is forbidden to do so.
Allies have stepped in to defend Trump in the court of public opinion, but Trump himself cannot do so.
“These are politically motivated trials and you can feel that the system there is rigged against him. This is not about justice, it’s all about politics.” House Speaker Mike Johnson told the Caller. “The justices’ attitude toward President Trump is clearly demonstrated by his actions, procedural decisions, and extensive gag order. They are working to keep him on the court and away from campaigning in this country. The public can see that the judicial system is using every means possible to punish one president and protect another.”
Colangelo came from the Justice Department to work for the Manhattan prosecutor’s office at a time when District Attorney Alvin Bragg was investigating Trump over a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. There are doubts about this. Mr. Bragg, who ran for office after convicting Mr. Trump as Manhattan district attorney, indicted him on 34 counts of falsifying business records, all of which the former president pleaded not guilty to.
Mr. Trump and his campaign are also prohibited from talking about his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, or the jury. Cohen, the key witness in this case, arrived. under fire For discussing the incident on TikTok while raising funds for himself.
“It was depressing because you’re watching a mockery of the court system right in front of your eyes, like the star witness is Michael Cohen, and this guy is a liar and a tax evader. He’s making money going after President Trump. Frankly, he’s making money smearing President Trump, and that’s your star witness. It was a joke,” said Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donald. “So it was really good to be there on the scene where they were actually reviewing the evidence. You’re sitting there, as a regular person, wondering where the crime is. Can somebody explain this to me?”
A source familiar with the situation told the Caller that the restrictions would apply to the entire campaign and tie the Trump campaign’s hands as it fights back on key issues in the presidential race.
Former President Donald Trump sits in court during his hush money trial in Manhattan Criminal Court, New York City, May 20, 2024. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Mr Donald said Judge Marchand’s body language seemed “arrogant” and made him look like a “nasty guy”.
“You know, there was a kind of arrogance there. It wasn’t like, ‘Okay, this is very serious, this is a serious problem.’ Obviously, we have a former president here. So, guess what? No, this guy was kind of arrogant and obnoxious and it was like his body language. ”
He also said he believed some jurors realized Cohen was a “liar” after being cross-examined by Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche.
“As I watched Todd Blanche cross-examine Cohen, I could see the look on some of the jurors’ faces that said, Wow, this guy Cohen is an idiot and a liar. I think that’s why I sensed it from his body language,” Donald added. (Related: President Trump details endless legal battle in prime-time Mar-a-Lago address after indictment)
From left: Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donald, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Louisiana Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Strive Asset Management chairman and co-founder Rep. Vivek Ramaswamy, and Cory. Rep. Mills, a Republican from Florida, former President Donald Trump (center left) and former President Donald Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche (center right) arrive at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, USA, on Tuesday, speaking to the media Watch as we speak to stakeholders, May 14, 2024. (Photographer: Curtis Means/Daily Mail/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who is rumored to be on President Trump’s running mate list, is unable to come to court to speak out against the “unjust weaponization of our criminal justice system.” He said he was happy to be able to do it. Vance also said that while the New York courthouse was a “very depressing place,” Trump was “in great spirits.”
“What they’re doing to him is unfair,” Vance added. (Related: ‘Election interference’: Bragg gag order imposes unprecedented restrictions on Trump campaign)
Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio (center), Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama (left), and Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of New York speak to members of the media outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York. Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (right). United States, Monday, May 13, 2024. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott said he wanted to attend because he considers Trump a “friend that I’ve known for a long time.” He described what is happening to Trump as “criminal.” (Related: Exclusive: One of the world’s most popular lawyers for President Trump strategizes with House Republicans to end Biden law against Trump)
“When I went to court, I didn’t know that I wouldn’t be able to see him in court. The judge would be photographed with someone like me sitting behind him and supporting him. The fact that I couldn’t talk to the press in court means nothing to me. I couldn’t even go up and stand next to him. He didn’t forgive me,” Scott told the caller.
Scott also said he was at the scene during Stormy Daniels’ cross-examination and said the jury was “careful” and “they were watching us.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said he was not asked to attend but personally reached out to Trump’s staff to see if he could help the former president, adding that Trump was “not required to do anything.” They have always helped me and I need help now.” , someone who supports him. Tuberville criticized Cohen, saying Trump’s mood was “upbeat.”
“I kept looking at the jury, and I think there were about 15 of them. They had an alternate, and for the most part, they were pretty attentive and taking notes, but you know… Like, all it takes is one person. I can’t imagine if a lot of them just say, “How do you trust a guy who’s already been caught lying in Congress and doesn’t even pay his taxes?” has admitted on the stand that he lied in other cases — before,” he said.
The Alabama senator also noted that the judge did not make eye contact with President Trump, saying, “He did not make eye contact with the president, but he probably only made eye contact once the entire time. He just stared at the witnesses and the jury. His daughter has made a lot of money from Democratic people. So he’s a Democrat. And this is clearly a biased situation that the president has gotten himself into. He knows it. Everyone around him knows it. His lawyers know it.”
Byron, Republican of Florida, speaks outside Manhattan Criminal Court as he attends former President Donald Trump’s trial on charges of concealing hush money payments related to an affair, May 14, 2024, in New York City. Congressman Donald (Photo by Alex Kent/AFP) (Photo by ALEX KENT/AFP via Getty Images)
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-New York, reiterated that the judge would not see eye-to-eye with President Trump, adding that the jurors were “very poker-faced.”
“They didn’t show any emotion or reaction at all. They were very poker-faced. And also, there was no eye contact. The jury was made up primarily of young people, many of them women. That may be worrying, especially in Manhattan, where over 80% voted against Donald Trump. That’s the question, right? There is no evidence from the star witness, a convicted and disbarred perjurer, who has admitted that he did so,” Malliotakis told the Caller.
Former President Donald Trump (R-Fla.) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) attend their trial on charges of concealing hush-money payments in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, May 9, 2024. 2R). . (Photo by Gina Moonpool/Getty Images)
Vivek Ramaswamy described the courtroom before Judge Marchan as a “Third World scene” and the atmosphere as “depressing”, calling his experience in the courtroom “a parable of what America has become”. He said that.
“Most notably, one thing you get from being in the courtroom is a sense of a depressing atmosphere that matches the depressing nature of what’s going on there. In fact, this is a concrete example of America’s decline. It’s like a poem about a third-world setting, atmospheric courtrooms, protruding wires, no temperature control, and a heavy scent in the stuffy air. The same thing is happening. It’s not just a Third World atmosphere, it’s a Third World procedure,” Ramaswamy said.
