WASHINGTON – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler accused Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan of anti-Semitism on Monday over a tweet that the Republican sent criticizing Tom Steyer, a billionaire Democratic donor who is also an Episcopalian.
“To be clear, this tweet counts both as inane AND anti-Semitic,” Nadler, who is Jewish, wrote Monday morning in response to a tweet that Jordan sent Sunday night.
Nadler was responding to a tweet in which Jordan used a dollar sign in Steyer’s last name. The tweet led to allegations that Jordan was perpetuating stereotypes about Jewish people.
Jordan, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, was responding to Nadler’s plan to submit documents requests to dozens of White House officials and Trump associates as part of a sprawling investigation into whether Trump obstructed justice. Republicans believe that Nadler is setting the stage for impeachment proceedings against Trump.
Impeachment has been a hobbyhorse for Steyer. The San Francisco-based hedge fund manager has spent millions of dollars over the past year on a campaign to impeach Trump.
Notably, when Steyer responded to Jordan’s tweet, he did not allege that it was anti-Semitic.
A spokesman for Jordan called Nadler’s insinuation “absolutely preposterous.”
“Tom Steyer is a billionaire that is spending millions of dollars to elect Democrats and incite them to impeach President Trump,” the spokesman told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The use of the dollar symbol in conjunction with his name was a reference to his political spending and the insinuation that there was anything more to it is absolutely preposterous.”
Steyer’s father is Jewish, but he is a member of the Episcopalian church, according to various news reports. According to Men’s Journal, Steyer became heavily involved in the church in his 40s, and attends services almost every Sunday.
Steyer spent more than $73 million during the 2018 election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records. All of the donations were to Democratic or liberal campaigns and political committees.
Republicans brought up Steyer during last week’s hearing with former Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
Georgia Rep. Jody Hice asked Cohen whether Steyer was paying any of his legal bills. Cohen said he was unaware of any payments from Steyer, and the billionaire denied contributing to Cohen after the hearing.
Nadler recently accused Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar of anti-Semitism after the Democrat asserted that Jewish lobbying groups were buying influence in Congress.
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