The Cohen hearing conclusion catastrophe proves the obvious: Congress is broken
The House Oversight Committee, the premier investigative body in Congress, devolved into a group therapy session on Wednesday as one of the nation’s leading legislators openly accused another of racism during the testimony for Trump fixer-turned-foe, Michael Cohen.
It wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was so bad that freshman Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., somehow managed to get the chairman of the committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., to defend one of the president’s closest allies, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., from a charge of racism.
Cohen was expected to use his testimony to paint Trump as a racist, and Meadows brought Lynne Patton, who is black, a longtime friend of Trump’s, and current HUD administrator, to testify to the contrary. The defense itself didn’t prove much. It certainly didn’t come from any malicious intent. Plenty of racist people can have individual friends of color. But Meadows’ move at worst was ineffective.
Tlaib evidently disagreed.
Rather than use her position — a remarkable appointment for a freshman, especially given the number of Democrats who’ve waited their turns for the post — to garner substantive evidence that Trump’s corruption has interfered with his governance, Tlaib decided to attack a fellow member of the Oversight Committee, warranting a full-scale meltdown in Congress.
“The fact that someone would actually use a prop, a black woman in this chamber, in this committee, is alone racist in itself,” Tlaib said of Meadows bringing Patton.
Meadows immediately rebuked the attack, becoming visibly emotional as he brought up that his niece and nephew are people of color and demanding that the remarks be stricken from the record, his right as a member. It all went downhill from there.
Cummings gave Tlaib the opportunity to rephrase and walk back her remarks, an overture she immediately denied, eliciting a visible eye-roll from the chairman.
“I am not calling the gentleman, Mr. Meadows, a racist for doing so. I’m saying that, in itself, it is a racist act,” Tlaib responded.
Meadows directly appealed to Cummings, who came to the defense of Meadows and deemed him one of his “best friends.” It was a stunning and strange moment, one almost positive for its bipartisanship but humiliating for the dignity of the nation’s most powerful body.
To think, a hearing meant to determine whether Trump’s dealings with his personal attorney constituted presidential corruption devolved into an emotion hissy fit sparked by an ugly outburst alleging racism from the first congresswoman to ever call for the complete eradication of the world’s only Jewish state. It would almost be funny if these morons weren’t the ones in charge of designing the laws that dictate our lives.
Yeah, had the hearings on in the background in the office today and I caught that exchange.
Nasty woman.
Gheez, If he eye rolled at that shrew, she must have been something. How long are they going to allow the Freshmen to bring them down lower than dirt?