[Previously: The First Day of Cohen's Congressional Testimony Reminds Us He Is a Liar and a Terrible Person.]
Not that any of us needed a reminder that Republicans are truly terrible, but Michael Cohen's second day of three days of testimony offered that pointed reminder all the same.
It was public testimony, unlike Tuesday's and today's testimony, so we got to watch both the Democrats and the Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee question Cohen, and the difference was stark.
The Democrats questioned Cohen rigorously and used their time to try to extract information from him that could open up new areas of investigation into Donald Trump, his collusion, and his corrupt finances.
The Republicans scolded Cohen for being a liar and a criminal, and, as I noted yesterday, pretended they don't understand how criminal investigations even work and working themselves into a HIGH DUDGEON over Cohen being a liar, despite the fact that the entire display was to protect Donald Trump, an even bigger liar whose lies have even more serious consequences.
Once again, we didn't really learn anything new about Trump's criminality — which was by design, as Cohen continues to protect Trump. His testimony ended with the grim warning that Trump wouldn't go easy from office if he loses in 2020: "Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power, and this is why I agreed to appear before you today."
I believe that, not because Cohen said it, but because of every single thing I know about Donald Trump.
The irony in Cohen's statement is, of course, that if Trump refuses a peaceful transfer of power in the event of an electoral defeat, he's vanishingly unlikely to step aside quietly if Congress tries to forcibly remove him from office.
That is not to suggest it shouldn't be done. It is merely to observe we had better be ready for it, in any case.
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