(Rick Miller/Olean Star)
By: RICK MILLER
Olean Star
MANSFIELD — U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy said Friday that the jury’s conviction of former President Donald Trump on all 34 felonies in his pornstar hush money trial had “blown up in the face of the left.”
The Republican fundraising platform WINRED received $34.5 million in contributions in the first six hours after Trump’s conviction in a Manhattan courtroom was announced on Thursday, Langworthy said. “Joe Biden raised $50 million all last month,” the 23rd District congressman said in an exclusive interview with the Olean Star. “The WINRED online system crashed” because it got so many contributions in the hours after Trump’s conviction, he said.
“It’s a very dark day in our justice system,” Langworthy said in an interview following a tour of the Telaak Farm in Mansfield Friday afternoon. Langworthy is a member of the House Agriculture Committee.
He said District Attorney Alvin Bragg was recruited by Democratic mega donor George Soros to get Trump and that Judge Juan M. Merchan was handpicked for the trial. The judge, he noted, refused to allow the Federal Election Commission testify on what Langworthy characterized as “a bunch of misdemeanors” on which the statute of limitations had run out.
Trump was convicted on the testimony of Michael Cohen, who said he paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 not to divulge their tryst, and that the Trump Organization repaid him by invoicing the payments as legal work.
No one should ever be convicted on the testimony of Cohen, who is a convicted felon, said Langworthy, who said he dealt with Trump’s former fixer when New York Republicans were urging the real estate developer and reality television star to run for governor. “Cohen is one of the least credible witnesses that’s probably ever appeared,” Langworthy said. “He was a very dishonest, nasty person.”
The judge in the case “put his thumb on the scale” in his instructions to the jury, Langworthy said, echoing the words of many other Trump elected supporters in the media.
“The jury was corrupted” by the judge refusing the defense request for a change of venue. “It was not a jury of his peers,” Langworthy said. Democrats outnumber Republicans by better than 10 to 1 in Manhattan. “He could not get a fair trial in Manhattan.”
The prosecution of Trump, the Republican nominee for president, was part of “the weaponization of government,” Langworthy said. “They are trying to take his freedom away. It was a political persecution.” Langworthy, who represents five Southern Tier counties including Cattaraugus and Allegany counties, as well as two-thirds of Erie County, said Trump’s sentencing is scheduled four days before the GOP convention.
“It doesn’t look like any of these other trials will happen before the election,” Langworthy said. “It doesn’t mean a hill of beans to voters. Others suggest that some Trump voters may sour on supporting him if he is convicted and jailed. With the election between Trump and President Joe Biden, those marginal Trump voters could help spell the difference.
“I think this is really blown up in Biden’s face,” Langworthy said. “If he thinks he’s neutralizing his poll. People see this for what it is. They are trying to take away the freedom away from the Republican nominee for the president of the United States.”
Langworthy defends vote against Ukraine Aid, rejects restrictions on arms sales to Israel
On another political issue, Langworthy defended his vote earlier this month against a bipartisan bill to provide $65 million in military and nonmilitary aid to Ukraine.
The vote came after a months-long delay as Speaker Mike Johnson refused to bring it to the floor for a vote even as the Ukrainian army was back on its heels in its fight with Russians who invaded their country over a lack of ammunition. “I would have voted for straight munitions,” Langworthy said. “I won’t vote for a full subsidy of the Ukrainian government. That’s a bridge too far.”
On calls to restrict certain weapons transfers to the Israeli government for use in Gaza, Langworthy replied, “War is ugly.” He said he will not support restrictions on weapons sales to Israel. The war was begun by Hamas terrorists who invaded Israel on Oct. 7, said Langworthy, who has visited some of the villages Hamas attacked and watched hours of video shot by the terrorists.
About 1,100 people died in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, including nearly 400 from Israeli defense forces. The United Nations reported in May that over 35,000 people have been killed as a result of Israel’s ground invasion and aerial attacks on Gaza, including 7,797 children.
“Hamas needs to be eliminated,” Langworthy said. They need to smash the remaining four battalions of the original 26 battalions Hamas had. By hiding among civilians in hospitals and schools, the leaders of Hamas show they are “cowards,” Langworthy said.
“The Israeli people will not be safer” if Hamas is not eliminated, Langworthy added.
