U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and his supporters are pushing for a vote on a bill to end political persecution aimed at demonstrating loyalty to former President Donald Trump, Axios reports.
“According to two lawmakers and two other GOP sources familiar with the situation, Johnson’s leadership team is calling for support for the End Political Persecution Act,” the report says.
It emphasizes that this is a direct response to the verdict of a jury in New York, which found Trump guilty of falsifying documents on all 34 counts.
The portal writes that bringing the bill to a vote is a demonstration of “how eager the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is to support Trump.” According to Republican leaders, the former president has become the victim of a sham trial aimed at reducing his chances of re-election.
Axios believes that even if the bill is approved by the House of Representatives, it has no chance of being considered in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.
As explained in the publication, the head of state can only pardon federally convicted persons. Thus, even if Trump becomes president again, he will not be able to overturn the verdict of the New York court. The bill, if approved, could allow Trump to transfer the charges to a federal court with the possibility of further pardon in the event of a guilty verdict.
