JUST IN: Michael Cohen Referred To DOJ For Criminal Prosecution

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY) have formally referred Michael Cohen to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal prosecution, citing his previous lies to Congress. They specifically urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to hold Cohen accountable for his false statements from his February 2019 testimony.

In a letter, Republican members pointed out six specific falsehoods that Cohen presented to the House Oversight Committee and called on the Department of Justice to take suitable action. Last year, GOP members discovered that Cohen also provided false testimony in a 2019 deposition before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). Now, his testimony serves as a foundation for a politically driven prosecution of a former president and current candidate for that office, they argue.

Among the six specific lies cited in the letter are Cohen’s various fraudulent acts he had previously pleaded guilty to in federal court. He also falsely claimed that he hadn’t sought a position in President Donald Trump’s administration, despite contrary evidence from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. According to the Committee, Cohen misrepresented his involvement in creating a Twitter account, failed to report foreign government contracts, contradicted his own written statement, and asserted that his crimes were due to “blind loyalty” to Trump, which was disputed by federal prosecutors.

In a separate instance, Cohen admitted in 2023 to lying to Congress during a 2019 deposition before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). When questioned about whether he was directed to inflate financial numbers, he confessed to providing false testimony. The admission led HPSCI to again refer Cohen to the DOJ for perjury and knowingly making false statements.

Trump is currently charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, all related to accusations that he concealed a $130,000 hush-money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels to prevent her from revealing details of an alleged sexual encounter in order to “influence” an election.

🚨 #BREAKING: @Jim_Jordan and @RepJamesComer refer MICHAEL COHEN to DOJ for prosecution.

Cohen lied SIX times to Congress and is Alvin Bragg’s star witness in President Trump’s NYC trial. pic.twitter.com/axJMyXBFhX

— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) May 8, 2024

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Cohen, once a personal attorney for Trump, faced a series of legal issues tied to his work with the former president and personal matters. In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges, including campaign finance violations, tax evasion, and making false statements to Congress. The campaign finance violations stemmed from hush money payments made to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump. Additionally, Cohen admitted to failing to report significant income, resulting in millions of dollars of unpaid taxes.

His false statements to Congress involved misleading information about the timeline of a proposed Trump Tower project in Moscow during the 2016 campaign. Cohen falsely suggested that negotiations ended earlier than they did. He was sentenced to three years in federal prison and fined $50,000 but was released to home confinement in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cohen testified before Congress and accused Trump of unethical conduct while providing evidence of potentially criminal actions, which contributed to ongoing investigations. He also became embroiled in various civil suits, both as a defendant and plaintiff, including efforts to recoup legal fees. Despite his past loyalty to Trump, Cohen’s testimony and subsequent actions marked a sharp break with his former client.

“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,” the letter wrote.

Jordan and Comer assert that witnesses are guilty of perjury if they “willfully” make false statements after taking an oath to tell the truth.

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