Joe Perticone/INSIDER
A Republican sign during Michael Cohen hearing
- Republicans on the House Oversight & Reform Committee brought out posters mocking former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen during his testimony on Wednesday.
- Members of Congress typically utilize posters during hearings to display charts and data.
- Follow along with all the updates from Cohen's testimony here.
WASHINGTON - Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform brought out a series of posters to display in the Wednesday hearing with former personal lawyer and fixer for President Donald Trump Michael Cohen, in an apparent attempt to discredit the embattled witness.
During the questioning round, Republicans displayed the posters on easels, as is common for members looking to display charts or evidence in certain cases. But the Republican posters were quotes attempting to discredit Cohen, pictures of a Twitter account created at Cohen's request to praise his appearance and sex appeal, and one sign simply calling him a "liar."
Before the hearing began, one sign quoted the judge in the case that resulted in Cohen's three-year prison sentence, which read, "Mr. Cohen appears to have lost his moral compass."
Joe Perticone/INSIDER
A sign mounted on the GOP side of the hearing room during Michael Cohen's testimony.
Another sign brought out by staff for Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona mocked Cohen with a graphic and a quote that read, "Liar, liar, pants on fire!"
Gosar proceeded to to use the quote during his questioning as well.
Joe Perticone/INSIDER
A Republican sign during Michael Cohen hearing
Later on in the hearing, Republican staff on the committee replaced the signs with more.
The
Cohen paid a firm to set up the account that only had one goal: to praise him for being handsome and sexy.
Joe Perticone/INSIDER
Posters from Republicans on the Oversight Committee.
Members also asked Cohen about the tweets and the account that he paid to produce the tweets.
"When you created the fake Twitter account @WomenforCohen and paid a firm to post tweets like this one, 'In a world of lies, deception, and fraud appreciate this honest guy @MichaelCohen. #TGIF #handsome #sexy.' Was that done to protect the president?" Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio asked.
Cohen pushed back, noting that he only paid the firm called RedFinch to make the account and did not craft the tweets himself. He also dismissed it as "having fun" during the 2016 presidential campaign.
"I didn't actually set that up, it was done by a young woman who worked for RedFinch," he said. "During the course of the campaign, which you would know, it's somewhat crazy and wild. We were having fun."
Joe Perticone/INSIDER
A poster from Republicans during the Michael Cohen hearing.
The posters are similar to the response campaign coming from the Republican National Committee, which is actively trying to discredit Cohen and downplay his testimony.
"I don't trust anything Michael Cohen has to say," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a Wednesday interview on Fox Business. "This is a total sideshow and this is what it's going to be the next two years: Democrats putting investigations forward, sideshows forward because they can't win on results."
Read more about Cohen's testimony:
- Michael Cohen will testify that Trump knew Roger Stone was in touch with WikiLeaks during the election
- 'I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is': Michael Cohen's bombshell opening statement before the House Oversight Committee drops hours before he is scheduled to testify
- Here are the 4 documents Michael Cohen says he gave to the House Oversight Committee that could be problematic for Trump
- Michael Cohen details hush-money payments in bombshell opening statement: 'Lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets'