Many of Steele’s claims have been discredited or have gone unsubstantiated over the past few years, so as Berman welcomed Cupp and Avlon to the show on Monday, he was immediately exasperated by Steele dredging up the Trump “pee tape” again.

“Really!?” He said. “Even after all of this, after the FBI investigated, even after it hasn’t turned up all this time?”

Avlon agreed, saying Steele’s defense of his unproven, salacious claims raise doubts about his credibility.

“I don’t know why he’s doubling down on some of those aspects,” he said. “It seems to me a mistake.”

Cupp followed up by wondering what Steele was trying to accomplish by defending his discredited claims during the interview. She also took the lead in criticizing Steele for standing by his disputed claim that Michael Cohen secretly met with Russian officials in Prague.