House Republican urges SCOTUS to overturn Trump verdict
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Rep. Byron Donalds. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) said Sunday that the Supreme Court should "step in" to overturn Trump's guilty verdict in his New York hush money case before the 2024 election.
Why it matters: Donalds' comments reflect a growing view among Republican lawmakers that all levers of powers should be exercised in attempting to overturn the former president's conviction.
- House Republicans are eyeing legislation that would allow Trump, if elected, to move his case from state to federal court.
- Others have pushed to cut federal funding for state and federal prosecutors who have cases against Trump.
What they're saying: Asked during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" about the possibility of Trump's case being overturned on appeal, Donalds said the problem is that may only happen "two or three years from now."
- The prospective Trump VP pick argued that, because that timeline extends well beyond the election on Nov. 5, the New York case "was to interfere with an election."
- "Speaker Johnson, myself included, and many Americans believe the Supreme Court should step in to this matter," he continued.
- Trump would have to exhaust his legal appeals in a series of New York courts before his case could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
The backdrop: Johnson (R-La.) said the day following the verdict that the Supreme Court should "step in" due to the "unprecedented" nature of Trump's conviction.
- "I think that the Justices on the court – I know many of them personally – I think they are deeply concerned about that, as we are. So I think they'll set this straight," Johnson said.
- Trump called Johnson in the days after his conviction and said "we have to overturn this," according to a report from Politico.
- But Donalds stressed on Sunday that Johnson "doesn't have that power to overturn anything," instead arguing that Congress should defund the criminal probes into Trump.
Go deeper: Trump calls on Supreme Court to intervene in hush money case
