Bobulinski spars with AOC at impeachment hearing over racketeering law

In a contentious moment in the GOP-led impeachment inquiry hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., appeared to become frustrated when one witness derailed her line of questioning.

Ocasio-Cortez asked witness Tony Bobulinski to identify the crimes Joe Biden allegedly committed after which Bobulinski proceeded to provide three general statutes he believes may have been violated, including corruption and racketeering (RICO) statutes. Yet, Ocasio-Cortez would not accept his answers, even insisting RICO violations were not crimes.

“Is it your testimony today that you personally witnessed President Joe Biden commit a crime?” Ocasio-Cortez asked in the public hearing.

“Yes,” Bobulinski answered.

“And what crime do you…have you witnessed?”

“Corruption statutes, RICO and conspiracy, FARA—” Bobulinski began to answer.

“What is—what is the crime, sir—specifically?” she interrupted.

“I answered the question, RICO, which you’re obviously not familiar with, corruption statutes,” Bobulinski tried to answer.

“Excuse me, sir, excuse me, sir. RICO is not a crime, it is a category,” Ocasio-Cortez asserted.

Yet, the RICO statutes are clearly defined. Further, the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia is currently pursuing charges under these statutes against former President Donald Trump over alleged behavior after the 2020 presidential election.

According to the Department of Justice, "The RICO statute expressly states that it is unlawful for any person to conspire to violate any of the subsections of 18 U.S.C.A. § 1962.” This chapter of the U.S. Code provides the circumstances in which RICO can be applied, primarily in instances of a defendant engaging in “racketeering activity.”