The House Oversight Committee has rescheduled former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s testimony before the panel to next week.
In a press release Wednesday, Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., announced that the public hearing will take place at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27.
“I am pleased to announce that Michael Cohen’s public testimony before the Oversight Committee is back on, despite efforts by some to intimidate his family members and prevent him from appearing. Congress has an obligation under the Constitution to conduct independent and robust oversight of the Executive Branch, and this hearing is one step in that process,” Cummings said in a statement.
Cummings also released a memo outlining the scope of questioning Cohen will face, which the committee’s press release said will “address the President’s payoffs, financial disclosures, compliance with campaign finance laws, business practices, and other matters.”
News of the rescheduled testimony came hours after a federal judge has approved Cohen’s request to move back the date he must report to prison by two months to May 6.
Cohen previously had been running out of time to testify before an array of committees interested in speaking with him before he reported to prison and frustrated lawmakers with repeated postponements.
In January, he postponed testimony before the House Oversight Committee citing “ongoing threats” by President Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani. In the day before the postponement, Trump had accused Cohen of “lying to reduce his jail time” and pointed to Cohen’s wife, saying Michael Cohen might have reached an agreement “to keep his wife out of trouble.” Giuliani, who represents the president in the Russia investigation, said Trump was “defending” himself by pointing fingers at Cohen’s family.
Republicans on House Oversight have questioned how useful Cohen’s testimony would actually be, accusing the event of being nothing more than a “media stunt.”
Cohen had been subpoenaed in January to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee in February, but he postponed that appearance earlier this month. Lanny Davis, an adviser to Cohen, said the Senate Intelligence Committee agreed to postpone the appearance “due to post-surgery medical needs.”
Still, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., expressed his dismay with Cohen, telling reporters, “I can assure you that any goodwill that might have existed in the committee with Michael Cohen is now gone.”
Cohen is still scheduled to testify before the House Intelligence Committee, which is set for Feb. 28.
