On Wednesday, after President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen testified before the House Oversight Committee, billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer launched a video using Cohen’s testimony to advocate Trump’s impeachment. This is extremely ironic since Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) accused Steyer of helping to coordinate Cohen’s testimony to support Trump’s impeachment.
“Hi, I’m Tom Steyer, and this morning, with Mr. Cohen’s testimony in front of the House Oversight Committee, we are now officially in a constitutional crisis,” Tom Steyer begins his video.
“The American public is finally able to hear firsthand the kind of criminal behavior that has characterized the Trump administration and Mr. Trump himself since even before he was inaugurated,” the activist billionaire declares. “It’s time for us to put him in the rearview mirror, to get rid of the most corrupt president in American history, and to go back to trying together to build a more prosperous and just America.”
Michael Cohen worked for @realdonaldtrump for a decade. Today we're learning firsthand about the criminal behavior that has characterized his businesses, his charity, and now his presidency. Now more than ever, it’s time to hold Mr. Trump accountable. pic.twitter.com/2VqMbF4wMD
— Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) February 27, 2019
During Michael Cohen’s testimony, Jim Jordan turned to Trump’s former lawyer and said, “You’re their patsy. They got to find somebody, somewhere, to say something, so they can try to remove the president from office. Because Tom Steyer told them to.”
Jordan noted that Steyer, who has launched an extensive campaign to impeach Trump, organized town halls in the congressional districts that elected Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).
Cohen himself admitted that he strategized with Cummings and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) before the hearing.
“The best they can find, the best they can find to start this process, Michael Cohen: fraudster, a cheat, convicted felon, and, in two months, a federal inmate. Actually, they didn’t find him. Lanny Davis found him,” Jordan quipped.
“So now Clinton loyalist, Clinton operative Lanny Davis has persuaded the chairman of the Oversight Committee to give a convicted felon a forum to tell stories and lie about the president of the United States,” Jordan concluded. “So they can all start their impeachment process. Mr. Chairman, we are better than this. We are better than this. I yield back.”
Steyer pushed back against these attacks, tweeting, “For the record, I am not paying—nor have I paid—Mr. Cohen’s legal bills.”
For the record, I am not paying—nor have I paid—Mr. Cohen’s legal bills.
— Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) February 27, 2019
This was beside the point. Steyer could have orchestrated the Cohen testimony without paying Trump’s former lawyer a cent.
Steyer’s campaign to impeach Trump has garnered millions of signatures and email addresses, leading many to suggest the billionaire has been planning a presidential run against Trump in 2020. It seems far more likely he is setting up an organization to become a kingmaker in the Democratic primaries next year.
In any case, Steyer’s decision to launch this video shortly after the Michael Cohen testimony certainly bolstered Jim Jordan’s claims. If Tom Steyer wanted to convince America his hands were clean in this matter, he should not have immediately released such a video.
Follow Tyler O’Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
