After a Manhattan jury found Donald Trump guilty of paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson slammed the hush-money verdict, saying “this is no ordinary political assassination.”
New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s staff effectively persuaded a 12-person New York jury to conclusively find Trump guilty on all 34 charges.
After deliberating the charges, the 12-person jury returned a summary verdict finding that Trump broke the law by falsifying company documents to hide hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
Responding to the Daily Mail’s ruling, Johnson warned that legal efforts to block former President Trump from running for president in 2024 could backfire if his approval rating rebounds following his hush money conviction.
The former prime minister, who maintained close ties with Trump during the Trump administration, denounced the legal “assassination” after the former president was convicted on all 34 charges of falsifying corporate documents.
“This is not a normal political assassination. This is a machine gun attack against Trump,” Johnson said, arguing that the “anti-Trump legal fight is backfired.”
“It turns out that a majority of American voters believe what I saw happen: that liberal elites were appalled by Trump’s continued popularity and connection with voters, and were doing everything they could to sabotage his campaign,” he added.
Regarding the 2024 US presidential election, he argued that Trump’s legal problems “make it more likely, not less likely, that he will win”.
According to a JL Partners instant poll, Trump’s approval rating increased by six points after he was convicted on all 34 charges.
“Our instant polling of a representative sample of likely voters suggests that for most Americans, the trial has not changed their deeply rooted views of Trump,” JL Partners told the Daily Mail.
See also: E. Jean Carroll and Hillary Clinton’s subtle criticism of Trump makes headlines after hush money conviction
Trump allies slam justice system
President Trump’s Republican supporters have stepped up their attacks on the justice system, blasting those who say the public should respect the justice system that convicted Trump in his New York hush money trial.
The Republican Party has always positioned itself as the party of “law and order,” emphasizing the importance of defending the justice system and upholding the rule of law.
But after President Trump slammed the conviction as the result of a “fraudulent and dishonorable trial,” his allies in Congress followed suit.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) denounced the case as a “weaponization of the justice system,” while vice presidential nominee Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said the case was “a complete travesty that makes a mockery of our justice system.”