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Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Chair of the Oversight Committee, listens to the testimony of Michael Cohen, former personal advocate of President Trump, on February 27 (J. Scott Applewhite / AP)
Colby Itkowitz
Congress, Campaigns, Health Policy, Pennsylvania Policy
The chairman of the House's oversight committee on Wednesday dismissed Republican appeals for a new investigation into former Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen, and to know he had still lied to Congress.
But the representative Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) Left open the possibility of new actions against Cohen if new evidence of perjury was discovered.
Cummings' statement came a day after a Cohen lawyer sent him a letter clarifying Cohen's remarks and acknowledging that it "could have been clearer and more complete" during an exchange on the point. to know if he had already apologized to Trump.
"Our practice on this committee is to give witnesses an opportunity to clarify their testimony, and that's what Mr. Cohen did," Cummings said. "I do not see the need for any other measures – at least for the moment."
[Michael Cohen concludes his testimony: ‘I will not sit back]
Cohen testified before the Oversight Committee on February 27 to publicly tell his version of the story. He goes to jail for committing several crimes, including lying to Congress on the Timeline of the Trump Organization's efforts to build a tower in Moscow, which he says were made to protect Trump.
During his testimony, Cohen told the committee, "I have never asked and I would not accept a thanks from President Trump."
Trump disputed this, tweeting that Cohen had "asked him directly" for a pardon.
Later, Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, explained that Cohen had asked a former lawyer to argue with Trump's lawyers about the possibility of a pardon, but that Cohen never had one. asked Trump directly and that these conversations had stopped when Cohen had broken his legal ties.
[Michael Cohen told a representative to ask Trump’s team about pardon, lawyer says]
Republican Oversight Republican Representative Jim Jordan (Ohio) asked Cummings at an independent hearing last week what he planned to do to keep Cohen "in charge".
But the Republicans were already calling for an inquiry before the divergence on forgiveness was revealed.
The day after Cohen's testimony, Jordan and Representative Mark Meadows (RN.C.) sent a letter to Attorney General William P. Barr, in which they contained evidence that they had shown that Cohen had lied during his appearance. This initial document did not mention the fact that Cohen apologized to Trump, but he mentioned six other references at times when the couple believed that Cohen had committed perjury.
At the Cohen hearing, Republicans repeatedly cited his conviction for perjury as a reason he could not be trusted.
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