House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will lead a “three-pronged approach” to reforming a justice system Republicans say has been weaponized against former President Donald Trump and other Republicans.
Announcing the plan at a June 4 press conference, Mr. Johnson said House Republicans would wield the power of the purse, other legislation, and the chamber’s oversight authorities to protect the integrity of the American justice system.
“All those things will be happening vigorously, because we have to do that, because the stakes are too high and because people are losing faith in our institutions,” he said.
“And that, at the end of the day, is something that should concern every single one of us. And I think it does.”
The speaker’s announcement comes just days after a Manhattan jury convicted President Trump on 34 counts of falsification of business records to conceal another crime, making him the nation’s first felon president.
In the days since that unprecedented verdict, Mr. Johnson noted that he had spoken with many people who shared a common belief that the country had reached “a new low.”
“People understand what’s at stake now,” he said. “This is not just a contest between two individuals for president. It’s now about whether we’re going to defend the integrity of our system itself.
“And we’re going to do everything we can, everything within our scope of our responsibility in the Congress, to address it appropriately.”
President Trump responded to his conviction by blasting the New York trial as a “scam” that was “rigged” from the start.
And if his historic fundraising haul is any indicator, it seems many others agree.
He raised nearly $53 million for his presidential bid in the first 24 hours after the jury announced its verdict.
Those funds brought the total amount raised by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee in May to an astonishing $141 million, according to a campaign press release.
In the meantime, he is also fending off charges in a Georgia election case and two federal cases surrounding his handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The former president has maintained his innocence on all counts, holding that prosecutors are targeting him at President Joe Biden’s behest to derail his presidential campaign.
Mr. Johnson echoed that belief at his press conference.
“They’re in panic mode on the Democratic side” over President Trump’s continued rise in the polls, he said.
“He’s winning in the swing states. He’s winning among the people. He’s winning among new demographics that have never voted Republican before.
“They see this happening, and they’re so desperate to stop him that they are willing to use the judicial system to do so.”
President Biden has denied any involvement in his chief rival’s prosecution.
“It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged, just because they don’t like the verdict,” he said on May 31 in response to President Trump’s claims.
“Our justice system should be respected. We should never allow anyone to tear it down. It’s as simple as that. That’s America. That’s who we are.”
Republicans have also suggested that the Biden administration’s Justice Department may have coordinated with President Trump’s prosecutors in Georgia and New York.
Attorney General Merrick Garland dismissed those claims as a “conspiracy theory” and “an attack on the judicial process itself” at a June 4 hearing of the House Judiciary Committee.
Mr. Garland is the subject of contempt proceedings in the House over his refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas.
Commenting on those proceedings, he struck a defiant tone in addressing the members who initiated them.
“I will not be intimidated. And the Justice Department will not be intimidated. We will continue to do our jobs free from political influence. And we will not back down from defending our democracy,” he said.
