U.S. Sens. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., attended Donald Trump's Manhattan criminal trial on Monday in a show of support for the former president.
Vance, calling the trial "a disgrace," said he wanted to express a few things that Trump has been prohibited from saying due to Judge Juan Merchan's gag order.
"The judge inside, his daughter is making millions of dollars running against Donald Trump, raising money for Donald Trump's political opponents," Vance said. "The No. 3 person to the Department of Justice Biden's Department of Justice, [Matthew Colangelo] left to become a local prosecutor to go after Donald Trump. And of course, there's [Manhattan District Attorney] Alvin Bragg, a [progressive billionaire George] Soros funded prosecutor who promised to go after Donald Trump and now is doing exactly that."
Vance also talked about former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, the prosecution's star witness, who began his testimony Monday morning.
"Let me say something about what I've witnessed so far in my couple hours in there," Vance said. "First of all, Michael Cohen is the prosecution's star witness.
"This guy is a convicted felon who admitted in his testimony that he secretly recorded his former employer, that he only did it once allegedly and that this was supposed to help Donald Trump. Does any reasonable, sensible person believe anything that Michael Cohen says? I don't think that they should.
"I actually think that his testimony is going to hurt with any reasonable juror, and hopefully we have a few of those."
Tuberville said he was "disappointed" at the lack of respect shown Trump in the courtroom.
"First of all, I'm disappointed in the courtroom. I'm hearing 'Mr Trump, Mr. Trump.' He is former President Trump. Give him some respect. I mean, that's what that place is in there, it's no respect," Tuberville said.
"That courtroom is depressing. This is New York City, icon of our country, and we got a courtroom that's most depressing thing I've ever been in. Mental anguish is trying to be pushed on the Republican candidate for the president, United States this year. That's all this is."
Malliotakis said the trial was "a sham."
"The people of America know that it is a sham trial and is based on a star witness [Cohen] that is a convicted disbarred perjurer who lied to Congress multiple times, has admitted to lying before Congress and has been convicted of lying," she said.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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