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California Democrat Adam Schiff revealed in an interview Sunday that the Democrats were in talks with Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen to "bring him back" for a another testimony, less than two weeks after Cohen pleaded guilty to having lied to Congress. 2017 about an abandoned project of the Trump Tower in Moscow
Schiff suggested to Cohen to return voluntarily. If Schiff becomes chairman of the House's Intelligence Committee when Democrats sit in the House in January, as scheduled, he would have the power to summon Cohen to appear and provide documents, but Cohen would retain the opportunity to plead the right of his fifth amendment to avoid self-incrimination.
"We are already in contact with his lawyer and we hope to bring him back," Schiff told Margaret Brennan, host of CBS News' "Face the Nation".
Cohen confessed his guilt. At the end of last month, he falsely told the Senate Intelligence Committee that work on the project was halted in January 2016. In fact, efforts continued until the presidential election campaign: June 2016 This case was introduced by the special advocate Robert Mueller. [19659003] OLD AUSA MCCARTHY SDNY: IT IS LIKELY TO BE INDICATED ON COUNTRY COSTS, BUT CASE FOUND
"We are already in contact with his council, we hope to bring him back."
Schiff, who faced President Trump's anger in part because of his relentless pursuit of Russia-related issues over the past two years, said Cohen could explain whether Trump or his associates told Cohen of lie about the Moscow project.
"He can not only clarify this, but one of the most intriguing elements of the sentencing note is the statement of the special advocate that Michael Cohen had evidence regarding officials from the Trump organization, "said Schiff. , referring to the memo regarding the penalty filed Friday by the Mueller team.
"The main issue of Muller's investigation, this main issue, is collusion or conspiracy," continued Schiff. "And so, who are these officials of the Trump Organization, are they members of the president's family?" What evidence do they have? It looks like it is separate and separate from the evidence on the Trump agreement Moscow Tower. "
Cohen said he lied to say, in accordance with the political message of the Trump team at the time, that the candidate of the time had limited ties with Russia.
"It is clear from the record that Michael Cohen, in preparing for his false testimony in Congress, circulated only among people affiliated with the administration or the White House," Schiff said. "It could go to the question of the obstruction of justice."
Schiff also suggested that Cohen provide information on potential violations of campaign funding by the president. Cohen pleaded separately guilty in August of several charges brought by South District New York prosecutors (SDNY), including five counts of tax evasion, a charge of misrepresentation to a financial institution and a charge of illegal contribution of a company and a charge for excessive campaign contribution.
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As part of his guilty plea in the SDNY case, Cohen stated that he had arranged the silence. Money installments to star adult filmmaker Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal "in coordination with and leadership" of the then-Trump nominee.
SDNY prosecutors have called on Cohen to "be sentenced to a jail sentence" cooperation "when he is about to be sentenced in this case by a New York judge on Wednesday.
Mueller , in the meantime, asked the court to "give due consideration" to Cohen 's thunder when he sentenced him for the separate charge of lying in front of Congress, and any sentence imposed on Cohen in the past. In the Mueller case, the prosecution is likely to run concurrently with his sentence in the SDNY case.
For his part, Trump described Cohen as a corrupt and unfaithful liar, who should receive a "full" sentence. [19659003] The legal experts were divided as to the scope of the plea in favor of Trump, because the prosecutors would be required to demonstrate not only that the payment of this sum constituted a "campaign contribution" that would not have been made if not for campaign, but also that Trump knew that he was breaking the law.
Although candidates like Trump can legally contribute to the campaign of their choice, they must still disclose their contributions. Intermediaries such as Cohen are subject to strict spending limits.
A TRUMP-CAMPAIGN-FINANCE VIOLATION [CERTAINEMENT] WAS IMPÉACHABLE OFFENSE, TOP DEM SAYS
No, violation of campaign financing are treated as civil cases rather than criminal. In 2013, the Federal Election Commission imposed a $ 400,000 fine on Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008 for a large number of administrative violations of campaign funding.
Schiff, recognizing that the standing orders of the Department of Justice precluded the indictment of a sitting president, suggested that Trump could
The Democrat insisted that "the Department of Justice do not think it is difficult to prove that this was mainly aimed at influencing the elections "and that the payments of hidden money thus constituted campaign contributions to declare. publicly.
"My point of view is that there is a very real prospect that the day Donald Trump leaves office, the Justice Department will be able to indict him," Schiff told Brenann. "He may be the first president for some time to face the prospect of a real prison sentence."
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