House Republicans this week sent a criminal referral to Joe Biden’s Justice Department alleging that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen lied to Congress during sworn testimony.
The Epoch Times reported that the referral was sent by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), the House’s No. 3 Republican, who alleged Cohen committed perjury and “knowingly made false statements” before a congressional panel during the Trump administration.
“That Mr. Cohen was willing to openly and brazenly state at trial that he lied to Congress on this specific issue is startling,” the referral letter said. “His willingness to make such a statement alone should necessitate an investigation.”
The outlet noted further:
The letter asks Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Mr. Cohen after he told a court several days ago that he lied about his handling of former President Donald Trump’s business dealings in sworn testimony in front of a House panel. He said that he made false claims under oath when said that neither President Trump nor a former Trump Organization chief financial officer told him to inflate numbers on the former president’s personal financial statements.
During questioning during the trial, Trump lawyer Alina Habba asked Cohen: “So you lied under oath in February of 2019? Is that your testimony?” He responded, “Yes.”
“Mr. Cohen, were you being honest in front of the Permanent Select Committee when you testified on Feb. 28, 2019?” Habba asked again. Mr. Cohen replied, “No.”
After the cross-examination last month, Cohen then tried to blame former President Donald Trump.
“He did not specifically state, ‘Michael, go inflate the numbers,’” Cohen testified. “Donald Trump speaks like a mob boss, and what he does is he tells you what he wants without specifically telling you.”
The Republican lawmakers said in their referral that because Cohen’s testimony in February 2019 to Congress “is contradicted by his reported recent testimony” in a Manhattan courtroom, his “prior conviction for lying to Congress merits a heightened suspicion that he has yet again testified falsely before Congress.”
“We therefore request that the Department investigate whether any of Mr. Cohen’s testimony warrants another charge for the violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001 or 1621,” the referral states.
“The Biden Justice Department must take off its partisan blinders and investigate disgraced fraudster and disbarred attorney Michael Cohen, a felon previously convicted for lying to Congress, who just admitted to lying again to Congress,” Stefanik insisted in a statement.
