Despite Trump’s gag order, five of his elected allies—including Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance—sought to undermine Michael Cohen today on his behalf by criticizing the prosecution’s primary witness.
Vance informed reporters outside the courthouse that the defendant was a convicted felon who confessed to secretly recording his former employer once. He claimed that this was done with the intention of benefiting Donald Trump. “Can anybody with a modicum of common sense believe anything Michael Cohen says?”
In addition to Vance and Tuberville, there was Attorney General Brenna Bird of Iowa and Steve Marshall of Alabama, as well as Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York, who is a Republican.
They were present with Trump in court this morning and addressed the media outside of the building later on. Surrogates for Trump claimed they were there out of friendship, even though they were critical of Cohen (whose testimony can be supported by other evidence, according to prosecutors).
The courtroom is the most dismal place Tuberville has ever been in, he added. “The Republican candidate for president of the United States is being pressured into suffering from mental illness.”
Another ex-presidential ally, Republican Rick Scott of Florida, was in court last week and again attacked the prosecution and the judge’s relatives.
