Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds on Sunday urged the Supreme Court to take up former President Donald Trump’s New York case in which he was convicted on 34 counts of falsification of business records.
“Speaker [Mike] Johnson, myself included, and many Americans believe the Supreme Court should step into this matter,” Donalds told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
His comments come after Johnson told Fox News that the Supreme Court should look into the case.
“There’s a lot of developments yet to come, but I do believe the Supreme Court should step in. Obviously, this is totally unprecedented,” Johnson told “Fox & Friends” shortly after Trump’s conviction.
Trump’s legal team has promised to appeal his conviction, but there are appellate courts in New York that would have to review the case before it could be brought to the Supreme Court.
Donalds referenced the lengthy appellate process in New York on Sunday, citing it as a reason why the Supreme Court should step in earlier.
He called the case against Trump an attempt to “interfere” in his election campaign.
“This is being done for political purposes. Everybody knows how the court system works in New York. The only ability for this to be overturned is going to be happening two or three years from now,” Donalds told moderator Peter Alexander.
“That’s why what happened in lower Manhattan was to interfere with an election,” he added.
Donalds is widely reported to be on former President Donald Trump’s short list of potential vice presidential nominees.
At an event in Michigan on Saturday, Trump told the crowd, “[Donalds] happens to be on the list of potential vice presidents. Would anybody like to see him? I noticed your name is very high on the list.”
Asked Sunday whether he would be ready to serve as commander in chief if necessary, Donalds said, “I think that I would have an ability to step in. I’m actually pretty intelligent. I can sift through issues really, really well. It’s about judgment. It’s about logic streams. It’s about how you make decisions at the end of the day.”
He added, “I believe in myself 100%, I do, and so you know, we’ll see what President Trump decides. I’m going to support whatever he does.”
