MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and one of his guests shamed House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for using the authority of his office to attack prosecutors and the court on behalf of Donald Trump.
Johnson joined a parade of Republican lawmakers and politicians, including Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and J.D. Vance (R-OH), to attend portions of Donald Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan and then speak out against the prosecution outside the courthouse in a possible violation of a judge's gag order, and the "Morning Joe" panel expressed condemnation.
"You go back to the very beginning, we criticized Mike Johnson for saying, 'Just look at the Bible,'" Scarborough said, recalling the speaker's description of his worldview. "When Mike Johnson's speakership was built on the biggest lie in American politics, specifically, the big lie [about Trump's 2020 election loss]. He was the guy that went around with the sign-up sheet to support Ken Paxton's big lie out of Texas, trying to overthrow American democracy. So you could start there, you could go all the way to what happened [Tuesday], unfortunately."
"I'm cheering for Speaker Mike Johnson, just like I would cheer for speaker Hakim Jeffries and any speaker," Scarborough added. "I want them to succeed because I want America to succeed, and [Tuesday] was a very, very sad spectacle for America and for an institution I love."
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Conservative pundit Charlie Sykes agreed it was a "bizarre spectacle," but he was disturbed by Johnson and other Republican elected officials making public statements against participants in the trial, in violation of the judge's order.
"I see politicians running toward what their master is demanding of them," Sykes said. "We shouldn't be surprised but it's still shocking and still amazing that you have these politicians embracing Donald Trump in the middle of a hush money trial, and could walk out of that courtroom as a convicted felon. It's one thing for Republicans to say, 'We like Donald Trump because of his policies on taxes or on the border or on education,' but what is happening now is that it's become the new litmus test and you have to embrace it all. You have to embrace the election denial, the lies. You have to embrace the insurrection and the hush money to a porn star, the multiple affairs. You have to embrace the obstruction of justice, you have to make yourself part of the obstruction of justice."
"I mean, that was one of those moments where you go, okay, we need to remind everybody that this is not remotely normal that the speaker of the House of Representatives would show up at the felony trial supporting Donald Trump, not in spite of his character, but embracing all of it," Sykes added. "Then basically using his position to violate the gag order, to say things that the judge says do not -- you know, this would affect the trial. Now, whether this is going to have effect on the jury, we don't know. Whether it is going to intimidate the jury, whether it is going to impress the jury. But, again, we are seeing a scene in American politics that we have never seen before and which was unimaginable until last two days."
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