U.S. Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA-09) reprimanded U.S. Rep. Steven Cohen (D-TN-09) for misrepresenting the facts Thursday at the U.S. House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearings concerning U.S. Republican President Donald Trump.
This happened after Cohen rehashed topics including Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, Trump University and a list of alleged acts of wrongdoing by Trump. None of these topics, however, were even remotely connected to Ukraine or the president’s alleged abuse of power.
Cohen then shifted to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump’s alleged quid pro quo.
“President Zelensky has no choice (but to go along). He needs America to protect himself from the big bear, Russia,” Cohen said.
“They say he said he hasn’t felt pressured. Well, A, he’s an actor, and B, he’s a politician, and he depends on us. He has no choice.”
Shortly afterward, Collins said this in a direct rebuke to Steve Cohen:
“The gentleman from Tennessee just answered a ton of questions for me about his understanding of props and theatrics by his study of drama in his higher education because now we understand a lot of things. Folks who study drama also understand you read the lines. They can read the transcript. Quit saying ‘I want you to do me a favor.’ It’s not in the transcript. It must be hard to read. I guess me and us just get confused when you’re trying to make up facts. That’s what’s happening here,” Collins said.
“But he also just proved my point as to why the amendment is actually good, because that is what I have said all along. The moment I saw that they decided to use abuse of power, what they did is they gave their whole conference carte blanche to make up anything they want and call it abuse of power, because they don’t have anything else to give.”
Collins went on to say that Democrats don’t have evidence of an actual crime.
“If they did, as was portrayed by the gentleman from Maryland and so many others, if you had the crime, if you had it, you would have put it in the articles. You didn’t do it. But then the last thing that is amazing to me, and the gentleman from Tennessee said it. He called Mr. Zelensky a politician and an actor in a derisive way. Basically implying politicians lie,” Collins said.
“Well, we’ve seen that this morning, even in talking about how they can’t even read a transcript. ‘He’s an actor.’ It’s amazing to me how we on this committee are degrading Mr. Zelensky in the eyes of his country and in the world because we can’t make a case against this president. This is the tragedy of this impeachment, right now, because they can’t make the fact that he felt pressured. That is the critical element of their case.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Doug Collins” by Doug Collins. Background Photo “Steve Cohen” by CSPAN.
Cohen is an idiot! Embarrassing for Tennessee
exactly , he is a fool who pays both sides of the isle. He needs to be voted out
Cohen = disgusting representative of Tennessee politics.
If ever there was a need of a “recall election” this clown qualifies.
Typical dumb a** Democrat.
During one of the votes on an Amendment proposed by the Republicans, while every other person calmly stated their vote, he had to yell “NO!” Cohen is an embarrassment to Tennessee!