Trump Allies Gather as Cohen Testifies on 'Hush Money' Allegations

• House Speaker Mike Johnson and a cadre of Republican allies, including former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, showed up in a Manhattan courthouse to support Donald Trump during his "hush money" trial.
• Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, questioned Michael Cohen about Trump's alleged desire to see Cohen imprisoned, with Cohen's payments to silence porn actor Stormy Daniels at the case's core.
• Despite trial attendance hindering campaign efforts, Trump maintains a lead over Joe Biden in swing states, even as key family members like Eric Trump largely avoid trial appearances.

House Speaker Mike Johnson was among a group of close Republican allies of Donald Trump who showed up in the Manhattan criminal courthouse on Tuesday to express support for the former president while his attorneys tried to discredit the key witness in the "hush money" trial.

The rows behind the defense table, where Trump has been sitting for the past few weeks, were occupied by former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, and congressmen Byron Donalds and Cory Mills from Florida. Todd Blanche was questioning fixer Michael Cohen about Trump's desire to see his former boss imprisoned.

The appearance of Cohen has drawn a revolving cast of potential running mates and surrogates for the former president, including US senators Tommy Tuberville and JD Vance, New York congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, and the attorneys general of Iowa and Alabama. Cohen's payments to buy the silence of a porn actor who claimed an affair with Trump are at the center of the Manhattan case.

With less than six months until election day in November, Trump is still ahead of Joe Biden in several swing states, according to recent opinion polls. This is despite the fact that the proceedings, which he must attend in person most days of the week, have hindered his ability to hit the campaign trail.

Hushing Allegations and Trump's Trial Attendance

Cohen revealed on Monday the plan he hatched for Trump in order to purchase the silence of those who were threatening to come out with claims of his former boss's infidelity in the run-up to the 2016 election.

He said in court that he gave porn star Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had an extramarital affair with Trump, $130,000 of his own funds because the former presidential candidate said it would be a "disaster" for his campaign if her story was made public. Trump is accused of forging documentation of Cohen's subsequent repayments.

Except for his son Eric, who has frequently attended, members of Trump's close family have mostly avoided the trial. Boris Epshteyn, Jason Miller, and lawyer Alina Habba are among the other Trump campaign members who have frequently attended.

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