Donald Trump reportedly called House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and demanded that he overturn his conviction in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Days after the May 31 conviction, an angry Trump called Johnson to insist,“we have to overturn this,” according to Politico.
The report comes hours before Trump is set to visit the Capitol to meet with Republican leaders, ostensibly to discuss a 2025 legislative agenda.
But, Politico reports that Trump has been “obsessed” since his conviction to use the powers of Congress on his behalf against Democrats he is accusing of weaponizing the government against him.
He and Johnson have spoken multiple times about the House’s role in helping the former president amid his ongoing legal battles and the chamber has been taking steps to address Trump’s predicament.
House leaders have been whipping a bill that would allow former presidents to move any state-level prosecutions or civil suits to federal court, potentially clearing the way for a dismissal or a possible pardon. The effort is a clear attempt to nullify Fulton County DA Fani Willis and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s cases against Trump.
At the same time, Johnson is reportedly considering using the appropriations process to defund Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probes of Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and mishandling of classified documents after leaving office.
But, with a slim majority in the House, vulnerable Republicans up for re-election this year and a Democratic controlled Senate these measures have no chance of passing.
