‘A political sham’: Republicans defend Trump amid hush-money sentencing

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson claims case was witch hunt' to prevent president-elect's return to White House

Republicans in Washington launched a fierce defense of Donald Trump on Friday after the president-elect received an unconditional discharge in his New York hush-money case, while Democrats maintained a conspicuous silence on the historic conviction.

The speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, characterized the case as a politically motivated and contrived witch hunt" designed specifically to prevent Trump's return to the White House.