Donald Trump has no shortage of Republican allies willing to help him get around the gag order in his hush-money trial. On Friday, Representative Bob Good, who traveled to New York to attend the trial, spilled the beans.
“That’s why we went up there, so that we could say the things that this corrupt judge is not allowing him to say,” Good said on Fox Business Friday morning. “This is a judge who seems to get all the high profile conservative trials up there, and his own daughter is raising tens of millions of dollars for the Democrat party off this very trial.”
GOP Rep. Bob Good admits on Fox Business that Republicans are helping Trump violate his gag order: "That's why we went up there -- so we could say the things that this corrupt judge is not allowing him to say."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 17, 2024
Good then attacks the judge's daughter. pic.twitter.com/f1VVSoHQ9q
Good’s comments, if he was told specifically by Trump to make them, would violate his gag order, which prohibits the former president from attacking Judge Juan Merchan, court staff, the prosecution, jurors, witnesses, or their families, as well as directing surrogates to do so on his behalf.
In the past week, Good and several other Republicans, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, have traveled to Manhattan to support the former president. While there, they took turns attacking Merchan and bullying his daughter. Good’s comments even echoed those of his colleague in Congress, Representative Matt Gaetz, outside of court on Thursday in New York.
“We are here of our own violation because there are things we can say that President Trump is unjustly not allowed to say,” Gaetz said, flanked by other Republican congresspeople. His words would be overshadowed by mockery from local New Yorkers.
Trump has claimed that the order prevents him from defending himself against damaging testimony from the case’s star witnesses, including adult film actress Stormy Daniels and his former fixer and attorney, Michael Cohen. He’s even tried to get the order tossed out, only to be rebuffed by a New York appeals court. Despite this, Trump still attacked the lead prosecutor of the case, Matthew Colangelo, outside of court on Thursday, opening himself up to possible jail time.
Trump is accused of paying off Daniels in order to keep their affair under wraps before the 2016 presidential election with the help of Cohen, and faces 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business records with the intent to further an underlying crime. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
