What To Expect From Michael Cohen’s Public Testimony
Michael Cohen and Donald Trump (AP)
1. Michael Cohen takes center stage: Tomorrow morning at 10 am, February 27th, President Tump’s former fixer Michael Cohen will deliver his long-awaited testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Numerous news organizations have indicated that Michael Cohen (also former RNC Deputy Finance Chairman and Trump Organization Executive) is going to talk about President Trump’s poor character, racist remarks, and alleged criminal conduct. The Wall Street Journal reported that Michael Cohen is prepared to show a check signed by Donald Trump, while he was president, reimbursing him for the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. If this occurs, it will spark a nationwide conversation as to whether President Trump should be impeached for that alleged illegal activity.
Today, Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) sent out a tweet that many are claiming is blatant witness tampering:
Hey @MichaelCohen212 – Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she’ll remain faithful when you’re in prison. She’s about to learn a lot…
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 26, 2019
Cohen also testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee today. Near the end of the hearing, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) walked out and told reporters: “Two years ago when this investigation started, I said it may be the most important thing I’m involved in my public life in the Senate. Nothing I heard from today dissuades me from that view.”
Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) chairs the House Oversight committee. With freshman representatives like Vice Chair Katie Hill (D-CA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) also on the committee expect some fireworks.
Although some Russia-related topics have been deemed off limits due to the ongoing Special Counsel probe, here are some areas of interest that Michael Cohen knows about that you might want to brush up on:
- The illegal hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal (two campaign finance felonies that implicated “Individual 1” a.k.a. President Trump).
- The Trump Tower Moscow deal (which may be part of a quid pro quo between Russia and the Trump campaign).
- The Ukraine peace plan Cohen crafted with Felix Sater (covert operation to try and lift sanctions on Russia)
- The Trump Organization: potential money laundering by Russian oligarchs, defrauding clients, etc
- Details on how much Trump knew about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russian operatives
- Cohen’s coordination of lies with the White House before his testimony with Mueller
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