"They have placed every nickel in this unprecedented gag on President Trump," he said. They are overriding his constitutional right to defend himself in political spheres from his harshest critics."

He said Congress has a constitutional responsibility to provide oversight on how Trump's various criminal trials are being carried out.

Johnson's appearance comes soon after he took heat from his right flank for refusing to agree to defund special counsel Jack Smith's investigation. It was one of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's demands shortly before she attempted to oust him as speaker."

"The US House was in session on Tuesday with vital business to complete but its speaker, Mike Johnson, was 200 miles north, attending another day in the criminal trial of Donald Trump, the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee charged over hush-money payments to an adult film star who claimed an affair.

"President Trump is innocent of these charges," Johnson told reporters outside court in Manhattan, where Trump faces the first 34 of 88 criminal counts."

"Supporters of former president Donald Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement criticized Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday for attending Trump's criminal hush money trial in New York.

Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a frequent foil for Johnson, took to X, formerly Twitter, to share her disapproval stating that Johnson should instead be defunding the Department of Justice's (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith.

"The Speaker of the House should be defunding Jack Smith instead of watching Pres Trump be persecuted by a NY corrupt DA in a politically weaponized judge's courtroom. Pathetic.," Greene wrote on X."

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"Meanwhile, former Republican representative Liz Cheney criticized Johnson for different reasons as she took aim at the Speaker, known for his strong religious beliefs, for attending the trial.

"Have to admit I'm surprised that Speaker Johnson wants to be in the 'I cheated on my wife with a porn star' club. I guess he's not that concerned with teaching morality to our young people after all," Cheney wrote on X."

#14

When they show up as Holy Moses Speaker of the House proclaiming Trump's complete innocence and the Deep State's culpability.... as an effort to rig the Jury.... while back at home in Louisiana their Party is enabling child rapists... it deserves to be pointed out to their simpleton supporters.

Who don't find the fact that their Cult Leader formed a Conspiracy of Fake Elector and an angry mob attacking the Capitol in an effort to overturn an Election enough of a reason to stop kissing his ass.

#17

Thanks for letting us know what Trump would have had to have done for you to even consider not supporting him.

Great job!