Cohen testifies before packed House hearing
WASHINGTON — In 2017, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen was on Capitol Hill to defend his boss, in testimony he now says contained lies. Since then, in the wake of what Cohen called “the daily destruction of our civility to one another,” the former fixer flipped on the president and pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, tax evasion and other criminal activity.
On Wednesday, in a packed congressional hearing room, Cohen issued a blunt warning to the Republican lawmakers trying to discredit and rattle him in defense of the president.
“I did the same thing that you’re doing now for 10 years. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years,” Cohen told his former allies. “I can only warn people. The more people that follow Mr. Trump as I did blindly are going to suffer the same consequences that I’m suffering.”
It was one of several hostile exchanges between Cohen and Republicans during the daylong hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, considered one of the most rambunctious panels on Capitol Hill.
It was also the first in what could be a long series of Democratic House hearings investigating the presidency.
Cohen, who is headed to prison in two months for as long as three years, expressed remorse and contrition for a 10-year career working for Trump.
He mostly remained calm as GOP lawmakers methodically detailed his past crimes and repeated lies, making little effort to defend or explain beyond claiming it was all to protect Trump. He accused Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, of twisting his words. “Shame on you, Mr. Jordan.” And then he chastised Republicans for not focusing on the actions of Trump. “I just find it interesting, sir, that between yourself and your colleagues that not one question so far since I’m here has been asked about President Trump,” he said. “That’s actually why I thought I was coming today, not to confess the mistakes that I’ve made.”
Republicans responded with outrage that the committee’s new Democratic leaders would provide a forum to a witness who just months ago admitted he lied to Congress.
The hearing served as Republicans first opportunity to show how they would defend the president from a likely wave attacks from Democrats in the House.
Cohen is “a guy who is going to prison in two months for lying to Congress,” said Jordan. “This might be the first time someone convicted of lying to Congress has appeared again so quickly in front of Congress. Certainly it’s the first time a convicted perjurer has been brought back to be a star witness in a hearing.”
Republicans’ and Democrats’ questions were seemingly from different planets, said Republican strategist Doug Heye, “which means credibility is in the eye of the beholder. If you’re a Trump supporter, nothing that happened is going to change your mind. If you oppose Trump, nothing that happened is going to change your mind,” he said. “And most minds were made up well before this hearing.”
