In under five minutes of pointed questioning late Wednesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) put Congress a significant step closer to getting to the bottom of President Donald Trump’s long history of alleged fraud and financial crimes.

The New York congresswoman elicited some of the most concrete information that was extracted from Michael Cohen during his testimony before the House Oversight Committee Wednesday.

After Republicans on the committee used the seven-hour hearing to defend Trump—with one attempting to prove that Trump is not racist by presenting a black woman who has been employed by him—Ocasio-Cortez zeroed in on how Democrats could subpoena Trump’s tax returns.

Watch:

Ocasio-Cortez focused her questioning on allegations that Trump has undervalued his assets to avoid paying taxes; where Congress would be able to find a “treasure trove” of documents held by the National Enquirer which contain damaging information about the president; and where the committee should look for evidence that Trump has committed tax fraud.

“Do you think we need to review his financial statements and his tax returns to compare them?” Ocasio-Cortez asked.

“Yes, and you’d find it at the Trump [Organization],” Cohen replied.

Cohen said he did not know whether last October’s New York Times report detailing Trump’s alleged “outright fraud” to increase his inheritance from his parents, but told her Allen Weisselberg, former chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, would know the answer.

“And would it help for the committee to obtain federal and state tax returns from the president and his company to address that discrepancy?” she asked. Cohen answered affirmatively.

Unlike many of her colleagues on both sides of the aisle, wrote Daniel Politi at Slate, “Ocasio-Cortez appeared to be giving at least an attempt at what Democrats could say to justify demanding to see Trump’s tax returns.”

“In five minutes, this freshman congresswoman just laid out a whole investigative plan for three more topics into Donald Trump’s potentially criminal activities,” Marcy Wheeler said on Democracy Now! on Thursday.

Others on social media also praised Ocasio-Cortez for her pointed, constructive questioning.

In response to the praise on Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez credited her years of experience as a bartender with affording her the opportunity to “talk to thousands of people over the years.”

“Forces you to get great at reading people and hones a razor-sharp BS detector,” the congresswoman wrote.

The congresswoman also gave credit to her staff and those of the committee for their assistance:

And on Thursday morning, she tweeted, “I wonder if after yesterday’s hearing conservatives still think my staff is ‘overpaid.'”

 Your support matters…

Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.

You can help level the playing field. Become a member.

Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.

Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG
In this Article:
#alexandria ocasio-cortez#donald trump#michael cohen#national enquirer#new york times#trump organization