Two top House Republicans are calling on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate a convicted liar, Michael Cohen, the star witness in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland referring Michael Cohen to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for lying to Congress – reminding Garland of six times Cohen lied to Congress in 2019.
Despite his previous lies, Cohen’s current testimony is being used by Bragg to prosecute Trump, the letter explains:
"Currently, Manhattan’s popularly elected District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, is using Cohen as his star witness in an ongoing criminal prosecution of President Donald Trump. Bragg's case heavily relies on Cohen's testimony and credibility. Even more troubling, Cohen's advisor, Lanny Davis, boasted to Politico that Bragg's prosecution of President Trump all stemmed from Cohen's testimony to Congress in 2019.”
Cohen also admitted to lying to Congress again in 2023, the letter notes:
“In 2023, Cohen admitted to lying to Congress during a separate proceeding before Congress in 2019. At a hearing in the politicized lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General against President Trump, Cohen admitted to lying under oath during a 2019 deposition before HPSCI.”
“In short, to prosecute President Trump, Bragg has revived this 'zombie' case relying on a known—and convicted—liar and his testimony at a congressional hearing in which he lied at least six times,” the congressman conclude, calling on the Attorney General to investigate Cohen:
“His testimony was full of intentionally false statements. And now, a popularly elected, partisan prosecutor is using this convicted liar to carry out his politically motivated prosecution of a former president. Therefore, we again request that the Justice Department investigate whether any of Mr. Cohen’s testimony warrants another charge for violating 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001 or 1621.”
The six lies in 2019 by Cohen cited in the letter are presented below:
1. Cohen denied committing various fraudulent acts to which he had pleaded guilty in federal court.
2. Cohen repeatedly testified that he did not seek employment in President Trump's White House, despite evidence from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York demonstrating that 'Cohen privately told friends . . . that he expected to be given a prominent role and title in the new administration.'
3. Cohen stated that he did not direct the creation of a Twitter account known as @WomenForCohen, which is contradicted by statements from the owner of the IT firm that created the account for Cohen.
4. Cohen attested in his Truth in Testimony form that he did not have any reportable foreign government contracts, despite entering into two contracts in 2017 with entities owned in part by foreign governments.
5. Cohen's testimony at the hearing contradicted various aspects of his written statement submitted in advance of the hearing.
6. Cohen asserted that he committed crimes out of 'blind loyalty' to President Trump, which was contradicted by findings made by federal prosecutors and a federal court.