Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) (shown above left) and Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) (above right) issued a letter on Thursday calling for a perjury investigation into former attorney Michael Cohen.
Cohen (above center) is the subject of both a federal and a congressional investigation, as he previously worked as an attorney for President Donald Trump.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee heard from the disgraced former attorney at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, which was televised live to the public.
During the hearing, Cohen lobbed many accusations at the president.
Meadows and Jordan questioned whether Cohen was even credible enough to give worthwhile testimony.
He has pleaded guilty to several crimes, including lying to Congress as part of a plea deal arrangement he made with the special counsel team, which has been investigating the president’s campaign activities and more.
Now the two GOP lawmakers are calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Cohen for perjury.
Related: Michael Cohen, at House Hearing, Tears into Trump for Alleged Crimes
“While testifying under oath, Mr. Cohen made what appear to be numerous willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact contradicted by the record established by the Justice Department in United States v. Cohen,” Meadows and Jordan wrote in a letter to newly minted Attorney General William Barr.
“There are other instances in which Mr. Cohen’s statements to the committee were immediately contradicted by witnesses with firsthand knowledge of the subject matter.”
In their letter, the lawmakers accused Cohen of denying that he committed several fraudulent acts to which he has already pleaded guilty.
They specifically pointed to his comments that he never defrauded any bank — even though he pleaded guilty to such charges as income tax evasion and making false statements to a banking institution.
The letter also accused him of making false statements about not seeking a job in the White House.
Even days before it occurred, Republicans were criticizing the committee for holding an entire hearing focused on an admitted liar. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders and others questioned why Cohen would be invited to testify, given his past. Sanders called it laughable and pathetic.
Related: Jim Jordan Questions Why Admitted Liar Michael Cohen Is Testifying Before Congress
Cohen has been cooperating with federal investigators since August 2018, when he turned himself in to authorities. He pleaded guilty to crimes such as campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.
He was later sentenced to three years in prison on December 12. He is scheduled to report for his sentence on May 6.
House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) has been trying to get Cohen to testify as part of the group’s investigations into the president. Cohen said he was willing to cooperate but on February 7 asked to postpone the original hearing. He claimed the president was threatening his family and was concerned about his and their safety.
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