Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado attended former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial Thursday, making them the latest Republican allies to show support for the presumptive GOP nominee as he campaigns from the courthouse.
“I’m in New York City for court with President Trump today. We are 100% behind him!” Ms. Boebert posted on X before arriving.
The former president and his political friends were set to watch defense attorney Todd Blanche continue his cross-examination of Michael Cohen, the Trump lawyer-turned-accuser who says he paid off porn star Stormy Daniels at Mr. Trump’s behest near the 2016 election.
Prosecutors allege that efforts to conceal the payments were illegal and showed intent to commit election and financial crimes.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and says the trial is a sham designed to hurt his chances against President Biden in November.
“This was a crime that wasn’t going to be done, but when I announced I was running, they wrote it up,” Mr. Trump said in the courthouse hallway. “They could have done it seven years ago … but they wanted to do it right smack in the middle of the election.”
Mr. Gaetz and Ms. Boebert are among the most outspoken Trump allies in the House GOP majority. They were joined in Manhattan by Reps. Bob Good of Virginia, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Mike Waltz of Florida, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Eli Crane of Arizona, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Michael Cloud of Texas and Andy Ogles of Tennessee.
They’re all strong conservatives, especially Mr. Gaetz, who spearheaded the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year.
Other Republicans who have shown up for the trial are businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, sparking murmurs that fealty in the courtroom is part of the race to become Mr. Trump’s running mate.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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