In a recent report from Politico's Playbook newsletter, details have emerged about former President Donald Trump's reaction to his guilty verdict in the New York hush money trial, which took place last month. According to witnesses, Trump was heard engaging in a foul-mouthed rant during a phone call with Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, immediately following the verdict.

Trump, who was found guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, allegedly expressed his frustration to Johnson, insisting that they "have to overturn this." The former president's anger stemmed from allegations that he had concealed a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to prevent her accusations of an extramarital affair from surfacing during the 2016 presidential election.

The report further reveals that Trump repeatedly violated the gag order placed upon him by Judge Juan Merchan, resulting in fines of $10,000 for contempt of court. Judge Merchan is now scheduled to sentence Trump on July 11, just four days before the former president formally accepts the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nomination at the party's convention in Milwaukee.

During the phone call, Speaker Johnson reportedly sympathized with Trump's grievances, joining other pro-Trump Republicans who gathered at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse to denounce the trial. The day after the verdict, Johnson appeared on Fox News's morning show, Fox and Friends, advocating for the conservative-dominated US Supreme Court to intervene and prevent the case from undermining public faith in the justice system.

"I do believe the Supreme Court should step in. Obviously, this is totally unprecedented and it's dangerous to our system," Johnson stated. He expressed concern over the dwindling public trust in the fairness of the justice system and expressed confidence that the justices on the court shared these worries.

Since then, Politico reports that Johnson has been in discussions with Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, an ally of Trump, to potentially use the appropriations process to target Special Counsel Jack Smith's probe. This marks a departure from Johnson's previous reluctance to support a similar proposal from Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The article highlights the concerns of Republicans who oppose defunding Smith's investigations. Representative Mike Simpson of Indiana voiced his reservations, stating, "I don't think it's a good idea unless you can show that [prosecutors] acted in bad faith or fraud or something like that. They're just doing their job - even though I disagree with what they did."

As Trump awaits his sentencing, the controversies surrounding his trial continue to reverberate within the Republican party. The outcome of these discussions could have significant implications for the investigations involving Jack Smith and Trump's alleged involvement in the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021.