Cohen hearing erupts in racism debate

By EVAN SIEGEL

Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC) found himself in hot water after Michael Cohen’s explosive testimony in front of the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill earlier this week. Cohen is facing a prison sentence after several guilty pleas involving campaign finance violations among other crimes. The former fixer for Donald Trump also gave a seven-hour closed door testimony to the same committee yesterday.

During the televised public portion of the questioning, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan accused Meadows of using an African American woman as a prop while he attempted to discredit Cohen’s testimony. Tempers quickly flared as Meadows repeatedly tried to undercut and interrupt Tlaib’s remarks and asked that they be removed from the record. Chairman Elijah Cummings of Maryland quickly interjected to subdue the scene, but the controversy had only just begun.

A video of Meadows in 2012 saying “We need to send Obama back to Kenya, or whatever” resurfaced as soon as the hearing ended. Meadows quickly said he “regretted” the statement, however a full public statement has not been released yet. Meadows was frustrated with the Democrats on the committee for inviting Cohen as their main witness despite the fact that he was an admitted liar and is going to prison as a result.

Meadows was also a member of the controversial “birtherism” debate during the Obama administration. President Obama, who was born in Hawaii, was the subject of countless questioning and doubts over whether or not he was indeed born in the United States. Meadows used this controversy as a primary selling point during his various reelection bids over the years.