million. Cohen should not answer questions on topics related to this investigation when he will appear before the House Oversight Committee next month, as the investigation of special advocate Robert Mueller is underway . He consulted with the special advocate before agreeing to appear at the hearing, two sources told CNN (1965). This does not mean that Cohen's testimony will not have dramatic revelations.
Cohen is ready to discuss topics related to secret payments. and aspects of the Trump organization, including the roles of the president and his children, according to a familiar source of the subject.
Cohen is willing to clarify – if asked – the role of Trump's candidate while in the allocation of payments to two women who claimed to have relations with Trump and how his election played a role in this regard, according to the source. Trump denied relations with women. Cohen could also explain how his incarceration for tax evasion is unfair, the source said.
Cohen's testimony raised questions about what he can say publicly as the Mueller probe continues.
The President of the Oversight Chamber, Elijah Cummings, said his staff had consulted Mueller about Cohen's appearance and that he would continue to do so before the February 7 hearing.
"We will not interfere in the Mueller investigation," said the Democrat of Maryland. Friday. "These discussions (with the special advocate) are likely to continue until the day before … because Mueller is going on."
Cohen will appear before Congress next month, after pleading guilty in December to several counts of indictment and being sentenced to three years of jail. Cohen pleaded guilty to having committed campaign financing crimes including payments during the campaign to silence women alleging facts – crimes whose prosecutors say Trump ordered Cohen to commit. Trump denied having ordered Cohen to make the payments.
Cohen also pleaded guilty to lying to the Congress on the length of debate on the Trump Tower project in the 2016 campaign when he testified before congressional intelligence committees in 2017. [19659002] do not know yet which specific topics might be excluded. Cummings declined to say, for example, if Cohen would be allowed to talk about Trump Tower Moscow.
When asked if cash payments could be part of the hearing, Cummings said his committee was "looking for the truth". [19659008] Analysis: The unreduced Paul Manafort filing alludes to collusion "data-src-mini =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/181206195520-01-paul-manafort-file-1206 -restricted-small-169.jpg "data-src-xsmall =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/181206195520-01-paul-manafort-file-1206-restricted-medium-plus-169. jpg "data-src-small =" http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/181206195520-01-paul-manafort-file-1206-restricted-large-169.jpg "data-src-medium = "// cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/181206195520-01-paul-manafort-file-1206-restricted-exlarge-169.jpg" data-src-large = "// cdn.cnn.com /download.aspx 01-paul-manafort-file-1206-restricted-full-169.jpg "data-src-mini1x1 =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/181206195520-01-paul-manafort-file-1206 -restricted-small-11.jpg "data-demand-load =" not-loaded "data-eq-pts =" mini: 0, xsmall: 221, small: 308, mediu m: 461, large: 781 "src =" data: image / gif; base64, R0lGODlhEAAJAJEAAAAAAP /////// wAAACH5BAEAAAIALAAAAAAQAAkAAAIKlI + py + 0Po5yUFQA7 "/>
"The American people will have the opportunity to hear about him, Mr. Cohen," said Cummings. "And their representatives, the Republican and the Democratic side, will have the opportunity to ask him questions, and I think the American people would see that it mattered, that their votes counted, and we 'open for transparency'
A Democratic member of the committee cautioned fellow Democrats not to give Republicans what they want – turning the audience into a "circus" by asking intimate questions about the alleged affairs of Trump.
Cohen's testimony before the Oversight Committee is public, so he will not discuss the investigation conducted by Russia there, but he could have these discussions with Congress in camera before the meeting. other groups. The intelligence services of the House and Senate seek to bring back Cohen before he goes to jail in March.
"I understand that he does not intend to talk about the investigation of Russia in his open testimony.He will have to answer questions about it and we are in contact with the lawyer, "CNSC Chairman Adam Schiff told CNN on Thursday. "We hope that he will voluntarily appear before the Intel committee behind closed doors."
According to a source close to the record, Cohen has not yet committed to testify before either of the intelligence committees.
Although Mueller does not want Cohen to answer questions about the investigation of Russia, this does not mean that they will not be questioned at his public hearing. The representative of Ohio, Jim Jordan, Republican on the monitoring committee, has not ruled out putting pressure on Cohen for questions on any subject.
"It seems to me, if it happens, we should be able to ask him questions about all the questions we would like to ask him about," Jordan said Friday.
On Friday, Jordan sent a letter to Cummings asking him to include Republican staff members in discussions with Cohen's lawyers and Mueller's team about Cohen's testimony. Jordan also asked Cummings to look for a number of documents from the Justice Department and the FBI about Cohen, including notes from their interviews, investigation reports, and cooperation agreements.
"I hope you will work with me and the members of the minority avoid an unproductive and chaotic audience," Jordan wrote. "If you want to provide a platform for this convicted criminal and perjury, we must make sure that we have the information necessary to prepare us to question him."
Jordan was often frustrated when Republicans investigated the conduct of the FBI and the Department of Justice in 2016. His questions about the origins of the investigation of Russia and a foreign intelligence watchdog been rejected by the lawyers of the Ministry of Justice.
"I tried to ask all kinds of questions in each of these statements and I had like 15 lawyers he told the witness that they could not answer the question", a- he declared.
"For a year and a half (the Democrats) said we did not want to do anything to disrupt Mueller's investigation, but we're going to bring in their star witness before the Mueller investigation is over. . "
Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, chairman of House Freedom Caucus and Trump's close ally in the monitoring group, alluded to the acrimony that Cohen should expect from Republican questioners.
"I think it's odd that the very first big hearing, the witness is a convicted felon who goes to jail because he's lying to Congress," said Meadows.
Cohen could use his willingness to testify as a way to appeal for a smaller sentence, although no agreement with prosecutors is contemplated this.It must begin his three-year sentence on March 6.
