Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was mocked online after she claimed “RICO is not a crime” during a heated exchange Wednesday with President Biden impeachment hearing witness Tony Bobulinski.
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) asked Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, whether he witnessed “the president commit a crime,” seeking to rebuff GOP narratives about the Biden family during the second public impeachment probe hearing.
“How much time do I have to go through it,” Bobulinski shot back before listing off several items such as “corruption statutes, RICO and conspiracy, [Foreign Agents Registration Act].”
“What is the crime sir, specifically,” the progressive darling pressed again.
“You asked me to answer the question. I answered the question. RICO, you’re obviously not familiar with. Corruption statutes. FARA,” Bobulinski replied.
“Excuse me sir, RICO is not a crime. It is a category,” Ocasio-Cortez interjected in a somewhat condescending tone.
RICO refers to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which targets dishonest business activities such as money laundering as well as organized crime.
Former President Donald Trump and over a dozen of his allies were charged in a sprawling racketeering case out of Fulton County last August over alleged 2020 Georgia election tampering.
“Oh no, it’s a category of crime that you are then charged with,” Bobulinski rebutted.
“It’s funny, in this committee room — everyone’s not here — there’s over 18 lawyers that went to law school. I’ll leave it up to you guys to define the statute,” he added.
“Okay sir, I reclaim my time,” said an exasperated Ocasio-Cortez, after a little cross-talk. “Clearly, what we are seeing her today is the continuation of the 15-month saga of the Republican majority lost in the desert.”
She then launched into a monologue railing against the impeachment inquiry, underscoring that the resolution for the probe “does not outline a high crime or misdemeanor.”
Netizens quickly roasted the progressive star over the fiery exchange.
“And, of course… AOC’s favorite network has her back after she completely and totally embarrassed herself by arguing that RICO is not a crime,” media columnist Joe Concha said.
“AOC broken in Hunter Biden hearing. So broken in fact, she claims RICO isn’t a crime. Well… empty the jails! Oh and for the record, all the defendants in the Georgia case brought by Fani Willis falls under RICO. Ooops,” Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) wrote on X.
“It’s official @AOC is some kind of special. RICO stands for Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. Yeah…..no crime here lol,” media personality Graham Allen chided.
“Well damn. Hope @AOC can tell Fani Willis to drop those RICO charges against Trump,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales quipped.
Many House Republicans have stopped short of flat-out accusing Joe Biden of committing a crime specifically and billed the impeachment probe as a fact-finding mission.
The White House and allies of the president have seized on the apparent skittishness of House Republicans to advance the probe into an impeachment.
“As we said Friday, it’s obviously time to move on. This charade is over. The House should be focusing on real issues that actually matter to the American people,” Ian Sams, White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations posted on X ahead of the hearing.
President Biden has implored Congress to close the impeachment investigation and denied allegations of wrongdoing.
Republicans had invited scandal-plagued Hunter Biden to testify Wednesday, but he turned it down. The first son testified behind closed doors before the panel on Feb. 28.
In addition to Bobulinski,…
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