Two top House Republicans on Wednesday asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether Michael Cohen—who will likely be a witness in former President Donald Trump’s New York trial—committed perjury in his testimony to Congress.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), who previously referred Mr. Cohen to the DOJ for criminal prosecution in 2019, wrote that Mr. Cohen allegedly “lied again before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in a 2019 deposition” and that his “testimony is now the basis for a politically motivated prosecution of a former president and current declared candidate for that office.”
They added that during that testimony, he made “willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact that were contradicted by the record established by the Justice Department.”
Alleged Perjury
Mr. Cohen had testified in Congress that he did not try to get a job in the Trump White House, but the Republican lawmakers pointed to evidence from federal prosecutors that found Mr. Cohen told friends that “he expected to be given a prominent role and title in the new administration.”Among other issues, the two Republicans claimed Mr. Cohen lied when he told Congress that he did not have any reportable contracts with foreign governments. They said he entered into contracts in 2017 “with entities owned in part by foreign governments.” They did not go into details.
The most recent example was in October, said Mr. Jordan and Mr. Comer, when Mr. Cohen allegedly “admitted to lying to Congress” during testimony in a separate civil case against President Trump that was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
According to their letter, at the time, Trump lawyer Alina Habba asked Mr. Cohen if he was honest in front of the House Intelligence Committee in February 2019. He said “no.”
“So you lied under oath in February of 2019? Is that your testimony?” she asked him. “Yes,” Mr. Cohen replied.
Regarding the statement that he made to Congress in 2019, Mr. Cohen later told the New York court that “he made a mistake.” He then accused Republicans of acting in a politicized manner to bolster President Trump.
His comment prompted House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to refer him again to the Justice Department for making false statements to Congress.
“The two members fail to understand the distinction between explicit and implied; which is how the question was asked and accurately responded to. The topic was further clarified several questions thereafter; which is conveniently and intentionally being ignored. I am not concerned at all with their baseless request,” Mr. Cohen stated, referring to Mr. Turner and Ms. Stefanik. “This is the type of harassment everyone, especially critics, should expect if Donald becomes President again!”
In their statement Wednesday, Mr. Jordan and Mr. Comer said Mr. Cohen’s testimony was “full of intentionally false statements” and that a partisan prosecutor is using those statements to carry out a “politically motivated prosecution” of President Trump.
“Therefore, we again request that the Justice Department investigate whether any of Mr. Cohen’s testimony warrants another charge” for violating federal perjury laws.
Questions About Congressional Testimony
Last year, Trump attorney Clifford Robert also pressed Mr. Cohen on whether he lied in congressional testimony when he said he did not recall being asked by President Trump to inflate his net worth. When pressed during cross-examination, Mr. Cohen conceded that the former president never told him to inflate the numbers but he later said President Trump signaled it indirectly and that “we understood what he wanted.”If he is called to testify in the New York case, Mr. Cohen will likely be asked about a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star, to keep quiet about her allegations of a 2006 affair. Ms. Daniels again made claims about the affair during testimony on Tuesday in the courtroom.
President Trump has denied her allegations and has accused both Mr. Cohen and Ms. Daniels of lying.
In a social media post on Wednesday, the former president appeared to reference claims made during the case in saying that “sleazebags, lowlifes, and grifters” are “allowed to say absolutely anything that they want” before referencing a judge’s gag order that prohibits him from speaking about potential witnesses.
