House Speaker Mike Johnson has announced investigations into Alvin Bragg (Simon and Theodore are not implicated) and Jack Smith. He should also investigate Judge Juan Merchan. The selection of judges is supposed to be by a random selection, but here is the curious thing. There were 24 judges in the lottery, but Merchan was not one of them because he was only an acting judge. He didn’t act like a judge to me.
So, if he wasn’t in the lottery, how was he selected, and why did he not recluse himself after it became known he contributed money to a group called Stop Trump? New York judges are forbidden from making any political contributions. Then there is the little matter of his daughter, Loren, who made millions raising money for Democrats because of the trial.
Shannon Bream: Now, I want to ask you about the verdict. Clearly, you think it’s a travesty, as many people do. And I think having watched the trial, there are many grounds, fertile territory for the Trump team to use on appeal, but that’s going to take time. In the meantime, there are a number of Republicans out there saying, You guys need to turn around and do this same thing. John, you’re writing this. Republicans have to bring charges against Democratic officers, even presidents. Only retaliation in kind can produce the deterrence necessary to enforce a political version of mutual assured destruction. The other side, Peggy Newton, writing about how high the temperature is, says this, We have to ease up. We have to stop enjoying our hate so much. We can’t go on indefinitely like this. Are you worried that Republicans will be perceived as doing the very thing you’re accusing Democrats of, of using the legal system for political purposes? If you follow John Hughes’ advice.
Speaker Johnson: Here’s what I believe, Shannon. Listen, we are the rule of law party. Chaos is not a conservative value, and we have to fight back, and we will, with everything in our arsenal. But we do that within the confines of the rule of law. We believe in our institutions. We are Conservatives, and we are trying to conserve the greatest country in the history of the world, and its institutions are an important part of that. Our system of justice is an important part of that.
So what we’ll do with our tools that we have in Congress, in the House, is we’ll use our oversight responsibility. We’ve already done that. You saw our Judiciary Chairman, Jim Jordan, issue requests for Alvin Bragg, the DA in Manhattan, and for the lead prosecutor, Colangelo, to show up for a hearing on June 13th in our Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government because that’s what they’ve done.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELAnd the purpose of the hearing is to investigate what these prosecutors are doing at the state and federal level to use politics, political retribution in the court system to go after political opponents of federal officials like Donald Trump.
That’s a really important thing for us to delve into.
And we’re going to look at special counsel Jack Smith, who we believe is abusing his authority as well. We have the funding streams, we have mechanisms to try to get control of that. We’ll be doing that within the confines of our jurisdiction. I think that can have the desired effect and show the American people we’re not going to tolerate this.
Shannon, at the end of the day, people are losing their faith in our system of justice itself, and that’s a serious threat.
Shannon Bream: Okay, we’re almost out of time, but I want to quickly ask you about something that may need clarification. You said on Friday, you think the Supreme Court should step in. You said, I think that the justice is on the court. I know many of them personally. I think they’re deeply concerned. Now, one of your critics out there, somebody who covers the court with me, part of the Supreme Court press corps, Mark Joseph Stern, wrote this. He It’s fascinating to hear the GOP speaker of the House admit to having private conversations with multiple justices who express concern to him about Trump’s conviction. I’m sure those justices were recused from any eventual appeal to avoid sitting on a case they’ve prejudged. I didn’t take your comments to mean that specific conversation, but I want to give you a chance to clarify.
Speaker Johnson: No, thank you. Of course, I haven’t had conversations with the justices. I just know their character, their personality. I know what they’ve said in the past. They are deeply concerned, as we are, about maintaining our system of justice.
If you walk into the Supreme Court building, Shannon, you and I know chiseled on the marble above the front door is equal justice under law. They are concerned about maintaining that idea. We all are because it’s a necessary ingredient to keep a Constitutional Republic.
That’s what I was referring to. I think they’re concerned about using courtrooms for politics and political retribution. We all are. We all should be. Every American. That’s what I was referring to. I think in their heart of hearts, they’re concerned about it just like we are.
