House Speaker being pressured to overturn Trump guilty verdict
3 Min Read
Trump's House allies are willing to go after the Department of Justice as they call for a floor vote to allow current or former presidents to move any state case brought against them to a federal court.
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson talks with reporters to condemn former President Donald Trump's guilty conviction in a New York court last week, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (AP)
House Speaker Mike Johnson is being cornered by the conservatives to issue a vote on legislation aimed at showing their loyalty to former US President Donald Trump after his historic criminal conviction last week which made him the first former president to be a convicted felon.
According to Axios, citing multiple House Republican sources, Trump's House allies are even willing to go after the Department of Justice as they call for a floor vote to allow current or former presidents to move any state case brought against them to federal court.
In a conference meeting on Tuesday, Johnson relayed to reporters that the House GOP will target the DOJ through increased oversight, funding cuts, and other means, according to a source in the room.
House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) floated the idea of diminishing federal funding for state prosecutors investigating Trump, in addition to defunding the federal investigations into the current GOP frontrunner for the upcoming elections.
This follows Johnson's request for the Supreme Court to "step in" and overturn the verdict.
Read more: Political violence in US becomes new global threat: Bloomberg
If the suggested GOP bill were to hypothetically be passed, Trump would be allowed to move his Georgia election case from state to federal court. If he is convicted and elected president again, he may be able to pardon himself.
Respecting federalism
A House Republican close to Johnson told Axios it is "unlikely at the moment" for the bill to go through, as a floor vote could also put moderate Republicans in a bind since they would have to choose between defying Trump and his allies or taking an unpopular position in their districts.
For instance, Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) told Axios that he is "not a big fan of changing jurisdictions" via federal legislation, while Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) said Congress must "respect federalism."
Even if the House were to pass the bill, it doesn't stand a chance of being considered in the Democrat-controlled Senate, let alone signed into law by President Biden.
Trump has already asked the US Supreme Court to intervene and annul his guilty verdict in the hush money trial after being found guilty of falsifying documents to conceal a payment made to silence an adult actress Stormy Daniels, before the 2016 election.
He voiced his request in a post on his Truth Social account, stressing that the sentencing hearing due July 11 is only four days before his presidential nomination is anticipated to become official at the GOP’s national convention in Milwaukee.
The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, who prosecuted Trump’s case, is reportedly being awaited to decide if he will request a prison term or leave the decision to Judge Juan Merchan's discretion.
Trump, although he would submit to house arrest or jail time after he was convicted last week, the public will find that difficult to accept.
Read more: Trump can still be president as convicted felon: Politico
Trump claimed he was "not sure the public would stand for it," adding, "I think it'd be tough for the public to take." Without elaborating, he expressed, "You know, at a certain point, there's a breaking point."
