House Republicans, including several Florida lawmakers, have sat in on former President Donald Trump's "hush money" trial in New York City in a gesture of solidarity. Representatives Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Mike Waltz (R-FL) recently sat in on the latest hearing and discussed it afterward in a joint appearance on Fox News's Hannity. They mocked the trial and compared it to the 1992 legal comedy My Cousin Vinny. However, the latter did warn that the trial also represented "a dark moment in American history."
Rep. Gaetz humorously stated that "there are probably eight jurors that would be willing to convict Donald Trump of abducting the Lindbergh baby, killing Jimmy Hoffa, and being the second shooter on the grassy knoll, and I get the sense there is one juror who sees so clearly through this and probably three others who are very difficult to read taking copious notes."
Additionally, Rep. Gaetz riffed on the testimony of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and his being "dog-walked through a jungle of lies," even making false statements on the witness stand.
"You never see that. It was a My Cousin Vinny moment because he never spoke to Trump about the closure of this deal he supposedly orchestrated, and the jury was aghast. Even the jurors who I think wanted to convict Trump walked out of that courtroom with their shoulders slumped because they knew Michael Cohen blew this case up. Anyone who relied on Michael Cohen, they lose," Gaetz continued.
Rep. Waltz further mocked Cohen by highlighting Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, who said, "brilliantly set this case up and just reminding everyone, heck, even reminding me of all the hearings where Cohen had lied."
However, Rep. Waltz also said, "This is a dark moment in American history" because of the apparent politicization of the trial, adding, "What I still cannot get over is seeing Biden's number three official from the Department of Justice sitting right there next to the prosecutor, just feet away from President Trump, who is leading Biden in the polls," evidently referencing former Biden prosecutor Matthew Colangelo.
Moreover, Waltz compared the trial to political trials in Third World countries, rhetorically asking if he was "back in Pakistan or places where I served in Africa or South America where they regularly put their political opponents in jail? Is this what America has become? It is certainly what New York has become."
