Influx of Trump vice presidential hopefuls fly into New York

New York: Donald Trump’s potential running mates and political allies have begun attending his hush money trial as they vie for his attention, attacking the case as a sham and accusing the US court system of corruption.

Amid a noticeable lack of family or friends in court since the trial began last month, Republicans have this week flown to New York to support the former president as he faces charges of falsifying business records to bury a damning story about an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

From left, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida congressman Byron Donalds look on as former President Donald Trump talks to the media.Credit: AP

House Speaker Mike Johnson was the most senior Republican to attend the trial, alongside a string of vice presidential hopefuls: Ohio senator JD Vance, North Dakota Governor Doug Bergum, conservative firebrand Vivek Ramaswamy, and Florida congressman Byron Donalds.

“I do have a lot of surrogates, and they are speaking very beautifully,” said Trump, flanked by several of his colleagues dressed in dark suits and red ties similar to his.

“They come from all over Washington and they’re highly respected, and I think this is the biggest scam they’ve ever seen.”

The sudden influx of allies came as star witness Michael Cohen testified for a second consecutive day about the hush money he paid to Daniels in an attempt to influence the 2016 election, which he says was done at Trump’s direction.

The former lawyer and fixer to Trump told the jury about the pressure he faced not to “flip” as authorities closed in, how he was shunned by his boss after years of loyalty, and how his life was upended when he was eventually jailed.

“To keep the loyalty and to do the things that he had made me do, I violated my moral compass and I suffered the penalty, as has my family,” Cohen said.

Later he added: “At that time, I was knee-deep into the cult of Donald Trump.”

Cohen told the court how the FBI raided his home in April 2018, along with his law office and the hotel suite he was staying in at the time. One of the items they took was a mobile phone he had used to record Trump talking to him about the deal to silence Daniels.

Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court.Credit: AP

He later received a call from Trump who told him: “Don’t worry, I’m president of the United States. There’s nothing here. Everything is gonna be OK. Stay tough. You’re gonna be OK.” The pair have not spoken since, he said.

After the raid, a lawyer closely tied to Trump’s legal team, Robert Costello, offered to represent Cohen and serve as a conduit to Trump via his now disgraced lawyer Rudy Giuliani. An email shown to the jury from Costello read: “You are loved: Sleep well tonight, you have friends in high places”.

Asked how he interpreted that message, Cohen said: “It let me know that I was still important to the team, and stay the course; the president had my back”.

Cohen continued to be loyal to Trump until August 2018 when he pleaded guilty to a number of federal crimes, including campaign finance violations for his role in the deal with Daniels. He also pleaded guilty to personal financial crimes unrelated to Trump, including tax evasion, and for lying to Congress about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

In his highly anticipated cross-examination, defence lawyer Todd Blanche sought to use Cohen’s history as a convicted felon and liar to discredit him in front of the jury, who will ultimately determine whether Trump becomes the first US president in history to be convicted.

Setting the tone for the grilling ahead, Blanche opened by telling the witness: “Mr Cohen, my name is Todd Blanche and you and I have never met … You went on TikTok and called me a ‘crying little shit’.”

Cohen, who is known for his temper, replied: “That sounds like something I would say.”

Blanche went on to portray Cohen as someone who was both driven by revenge against Trump – noting he had a book of that name – while being obsessed with him and seeking to make money off the experience through podcasts and cable news appearances.

Stormy Daniels recounted having sex with Donald Trump in a hotel room.Credit: Getty

Cohen kept his calm as Blanche recounted times he had likened Trump to a “boorish cartoon misogynist” and a “Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain”.

“Do you want president Trump to get convicted in this case?” Blanche asked.

“I would like to see accountability,” Cohen replied.

Trump currently faces 34 counts of falsifying business records relating to a $US130,000 payment to cover up an alleged affair with Daniels, which she alleges took place in 2006 when he was newly married to his current wife Melania.

While Cohen made the payment himself, the jury was shown cheques that Trump signed, which the prosecution said showed his attempt to disguise it as a legal retainer, in violation of campaign finance laws.

Trump, who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, has been limited from attacking witnesses in the case due to a gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan. However, Republicans are now attending court to lob attacks on his behalf.

“The system is using all the tools at its disposal right now to punish one president and provide for another,” said Johnson, who branded the trial as a “sham” and a “disgrace”.

Ramaswamy, who sat behind Trump alongside his son Eric and daughter-in-law Lara Trump in court, described the courtroom as “Kafka-esque” and “depressing”.

“It seems like the prosecution’s strategy is they’re trying to bore the jury into conviction,” he posted on X.

Earlier, Vance described the prosecution team as a group of “Democrat political operatives”, while Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville lamented Trump being referred to as “Mr Trump” in court instead of “former president”.

“The Republican candidate for president of the United States is going through mental anguish in a courtroom that’s very depressing, very depressing,” he said.

“Give him some respect!”

The trial continues with Cohen on the stand on Thursday, before the prosecution rests its case. Trump is not expected to testify, despite initially saying that he would.

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