Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows pressed the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday to provide them access to transcripts from Michael Cohen’s closed-door appearances before the panel in February and March.
Frustrated with a lack of bipartisan support for a criminal referral they recently sent to the Justice Department, the pair called for there to be accountability for what they said was blatant lies by President Trump’s former personal attorney.
“Every Member of the House of Representatives — whether Republican or Democrat — should not tolerate witnesses who lie before Congress,” Jordan, R-Ohio, and Meadows, R-N.C., wrote in a letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and ranking member of the committee Devin Nunes, R-Calif. “This is a matter that goes directly to the integrity and credibility of the institution.”
According to Jordan and Meadows, both members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Cohen made “demonstrably false statements” when he appeared in February before their panel. In February they submitted a criminal referral to the Justice Department urging the agency to investigate statements made by Trump’s former attorney, including his denial that he was interested in working for the White House.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., has disagreed with the pair’s characterization of Cohen’s testimony, casting doubt on whether Cohen actually wanted to work in the White House — citing salary limitations. In their letter, Jordan and Meadows said Cummings “promised” accountability if Cohen lied and “is now delaying action on referring Cohen on the purported basis that he first needs to review” Cohen’s testimony to the intelligence panel.
“Although we believe there is extensive evidence from Cohen’s Oversight Committee testimony to support a referral to the Justice Department, Chairman Cummings has been reluctant to accept the fact that the first announced witness of his chairmanship repeatedly lied to our Committee,” Jordan and Meadows wrote.
The Republican pair are requesting the House Intelligence Committee vote to grant them access to the transcripts to mitigate Cummings’s concerns on the matter.
“Although we do not believe it is necessary to review [the House Intelligence Committee’s] transcripts to determine whether Cohen lied to our Committee, we respectfully request that [the House Intelligence Committee] vote to permit us access to the transcripts of Cohen’s [House Intelligence Committee] appearances to help assuage Chairman Cummings’s concerns,” they wrote.
Cohen, who once said he would take a “bullet” for Trump, pleaded guilty in August to tax and bank fraud and to violating campaign finance law by arranging payments to silence women alleging affairs with Trump. In November, he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about efforts to open a Trump Tower in Moscow.
Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison, and he’s due to start that sentence in May.
