A pair of House Oversight Committee Republicans submitted a criminal referral to the Justice Department on Thursday urging the agency to investigate statements made by Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen before the panel on Wednesday, including Cohen’s denial that he was not interested in a job at the White House.
Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the ranking member, and Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said they have proof Cohen “committed perjury and knowingly made false statements” during his testimony.
“Mr. Cohen’s testimony is material to the Committee’s assessment of Mr. Cohen’s motive to monetize his former association with President Trump,” Jordan and Meadows wrote, according to CNN. “It is essential that the Department of Justice investigate these remarkable contradictions between Mr. Cohen, the SDNY prosecutors, and the public accounts of witnesses with firsthand information.”
[Related: Could Michael Cohen be prosecuted for committing perjury again?]
According to a court filing from investigators in the Southern District of New York, Cohen disclosed to friends and colleagues that he was “expected to be given a prominent role and title in the new administration.” Publicly, Cohen told CNN’s Chris Cuomo in 2016 that he was hopeful he would receive an offer to work at the White House and said he planned to accept if an offer was extended.
But Cohen said Wednesday he wasn’t interested in an administration position.
“I was extremely proud to be the personal attorney for the President of the United States of America,” Cohen said. “I did not want to go to the White House.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., cast doubt on whether Cohen actually wanted to work in the White House — citing salary limitations.
“I don’t have any knowledge of that,” Cummings said. “He said he wasn’t [lobbying for a job] and I believe him. I mean, think about it. He could make a helluva lot more money, a helluva lot more money, outside the White House than in the White House. I mean, I don’t know why you would want to do that.”
Among the other areas the lawmakers want the DOJ to examine is Cohen’s denial that he ever committed bank fraud.
Cohen’s attorney, Lanny Davis, responded to the criminal referral, calling out the “two pro-Trump Committee members” for what he said was in his view a “sad misuse of the criminal justice system with the aura of pure partisanship.”
“Mr. Cohen testified truthfully before the House Oversight Committee. He took full responsibility for his guilty pleas. He also backed up much of his testimony with documents,” he said.
Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations regarding hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign to two women who claimed they were involved in affairs with Trump.
Cohen told lawmakers on Wednesday about checks Trump used to reimburse him for paying porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged affair. Those checks were put on display during the hearing.
Cohen has previously said Trump directed him to make a similar pay-off to Playboy model Karen McDougal.
