Cohen expected to claim lying, racism by Trump

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is expected to give a behind-the-scenes account of what he will claim is Trump’s lying, racism and cheating, and possibly even criminal conduct, when he testifies publicly before a House committee today, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Cohen is expected to provide what he will claim is evidence, in the form of documents, of Trump’s conduct, said the person, who requested anonymity to discuss the confidential testimony.

Trump’s former personal “fixer” arrived on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to begin three days of congressional appearances, starting with a closed-door interview with the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The public won’t have a chance to hear from him until today, when he testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. He will go behind closed doors again when he talks to the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement Tuesday it was “laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies.”

One Republican House member did more than just question Cohen’s credibility. Florida Republican Matt Gaetz tweeted Tuesday that the world is “about to learn a lot” about Cohen and suggested he should talk to his wife before his testimony.

Gaetz, a Trump ally, is not a member of the committee that will question Cohen. He did not offer any evidence. Still, the tweet was extraordinary because his remarks appear to be threatening or intimidating a witness.

“We’re witness testing, not witness tampering,” Gaetz told reporters. “When witnesses come before Congress, their truthfulness and veracity are in question, and we have the opportunity to test them.”

Lawmakers are alternately suspicious of Cohen – who is set to serve prison time for lying to the House and Senate intelligence committees in 2017 – and eager to hear what he has to say after he turned on his longtime boss. Senators on the intelligence panel attended Tuesday’s private meeting, a departure from the committee’s usual practice, where witness interviews are conducted by staff only.

Sen. Mark Warner, the intelligence panel’s top Democrat, suggested Cohen had provided important information.

“Two years ago when this investigation started, I said it may be the most important thing I am involved in in my public life in the Senate, and nothing I’ve heard today dissuades me from that view,” Warner said after returning to the interview from a Senate vote.

The Senate intelligence committee chairman, Richard Burr, told The Associated Press that senators would have staff ask questions but would be in the room to observe. He said no topics would be off limits, and Cohen, a close confidant of Trump for many years, “should expect to get any question from anywhere about anything.”