Ex-Trump attorney on hush money trial visitors: 'Not something that I would be encouraging'
Timothy Parlatore, former President Trump’s ex-attorney, weighed in on the appearance of several political figures at the former president's hush money trial in New York City.
Parlatore signaled that the visit from high-profile Republicans — including lawmakers and some on Trump's running mate shortlist — and their matching attire could send the wrong message to the jurists.
“I always tell clients that when it comes to a criminal trial, there are only 12 opinions that matter. And yours is not one of them,” he said Saturday in an interview on “CNN Newsroom.” “And so what impact is that going to have on the 12 people in the box?”
“I am concerned that by parading these fingers in and out, that that would have a negative impact on the jury,” Parlatore continued. “I know that there was an incident where a couple of members of Congress came in, not during a break, and they were somewhat disruptive and the judge was looking angrily down. That's the kind of thing that jurors notice.”
The attorney added, “So, you know, it's not something that I would be encouraging.”
Parlatore, who represented the former president in his classified documents case before stepping down, acknowledged that “juries are funny things,” and could also brush off the appearances.
His remarks come after at least nine Republican lawmakers made their way to the New York courthouse Thursday to stand in solidarity with the former president, including Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Bob Good (Va.) and Andy Biggs (Ariz.), among others.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) joined Trump in Manhattan Tuesday, and slammed the case against the former president. In his remarks, he called the ongoing trial “election interference,” and said prosecutors just wanted to keep him off the campaign trail.
GOP Sens. J.D. Vance (Ohio) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) also made the journey, with the latter calling the courtroom “depressing.”
The former president is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment his ex-fixer Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair with Trump ahead of the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty.
The trial will resume Monday with further cross-examination of Cohen, seen as the star witness in the case, who finished his testimony last week.
Parlatore said Saturday that he thinks the case will ultimately come down to how the jurists perceive Cohen’s credibility.