Johnson: Merchan not 'serious judge' after threatening Trump with jail time in election year

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., blasted Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday for fining former President Trump 10 times for gag order violations during an ongoing presidential campaign.

Merchan is presiding over Trump's hush money case in New York.

"The judge, who is a well-known Democrat, is pursuing an indefensible gag order on President Trump. Now, just think about that. Think about the magnitude of that. He's trying to override President Trump's constitutional right to defend himself against the constant smears of his political opponents, in an election year," Johnson said during a news conference on Tuesday after a House GOP conference meeting.

"You cannot call yourself a serious judge and threaten a presidential candidate with jail time when he defends his reputation in public in the middle of a campaign. And I think everybody of good conscience understands that," he added.

Johnson turned to the classified documents case against Trump, who he argued has been treated "completely differently" from President Biden.

"Biden, of course, willfully retained and disclosed classified material but because he is, quote, an elderly man with a poor memory, un-quote, it was decided that DOJ would not be bringing charges," he said.

"What the American people see, and I mean, this is across the country, this isn't just red states, it's blue states as well. They look at this and they see an incredible double standard. It's just blatantly on display. It's the weaponization of our justice system. Every single person of good conscience and common sense can see that clearly and it's disturbing to them," Johnson also said.

He continued, saying, "Why? Because in our system, in a constitutional Republic, if the people do not believe that the justice system is fair, that you really do not have equal justice under law, then they throw their hands up and they say, 'What is there to believe in?'"