Michael Cohen's testimony is the 'first unofficial hearing of the impeachment process,' NBC's Chuck Todd says

Will Michael Cohen's testimony be remembered as the beginning of impeachment proceedings against President Trump?

That's what NBC's Chuck Todd suggested on Wednesday, calling the Cohen testimony the "first unofficial hearing of the impeachment process." Whether "you want to call it that or not," Todd said, "that's what history" will reflect.

Todd said these issues will be decided "either at a ballot box or on the floor of the United States Senate," and the hearing offers a preview of how Republicans will defend Trump, namely by trying to deflect the blame and "put it on everybody else." This isn't to say that Todd thinks Democrats have a rock solid case, though, as he added that for now, the White House has "enough lack of evidence, if you will, to at least plausibly keep the president protected."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) had argued early on in the hearing, during which Cohen made numerous explosive allegations against the president, that the whole thing was a stunt organized by Democrats trying to "find somebody somewhere to say something so they can try to remove the president from office.” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) argued Wednesday that "we're not there yet" on impeachment, while Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) said "there's growing evidence that an impeachment pleading can be made, but I think there's more that needs to be evaluated.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), when asked if there's enough evidence for impeachment, said, "We'll see." Brendan Morrow