Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have contacted former President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen about appearing at next week’s impeachment hearings, a person familiar with the discussions told Fox News Digital.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), who is leading the impeachment inquiry into accusations that President Biden used his position as vice president to enrich himself and his family, said he and White House House denies this.
The next public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
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Michael Cohen is a former lawyer to former President Trump. (AP Photo/Stephen Jeremiah, File)
Democrats on the committee hope Mr. Cohen’s possible appearance will focus attention on Mr. Trump at the high-profile event, the people said.
“We believe Mr. Cohen’s direct testimony about Mr. Trump’s overseas business dealings during his presidency will help focus the hearing on Donald Trump,” the person said. .
According to the person, Cohen’s appearance and testimony will allow Republicans to respond in real time, on camera, to criticism that Democrats have ignored allegations that President Trump benefited from China and other countries while in office. He believes he may be forced to do so.
Fox News Digital reached out to Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee about Cohen.
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House Democrats are eyeing Cohen as a witness in the Republican impeachment inquiry into President Biden. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Mr. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former lawyer, was once one of Mr. Trump’s most ardent defenders and served part of a three-year prison sentence for charges related to his defense of the former president. Cohen has become a vocal critic of Trump since his release in November 2021, and admitted to investigators in 2018 that he arranged hush money payments to two women on Trump’s behalf. . Trump has publicly denied any wrongdoing.
House Republicans are investigating whether Biden participated in an influence-spreading scheme with relatives, including his son Hunter Biden, and are specifically scrutinizing the younger Biden’s business dealings with China and Ukraine. .
Hunter Biden recently declined an invitation from House Republicans to appear at the same hearing where Democrats were in contact with Cohen.
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President Biden’s son Hunter Biden declined a request to appear at next week’s hearing. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abby Lowell, said in a letter to Oversight Committee investigators earlier this week that scheduling conflicts prevented her from appearing in court, while also criticizing the hearing itself.
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“This blatant media project is not proper proceedings and is a clear attempt to throw a Hail Mary pass after the game is over,” Lowell wrote.
