House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and the House Intelligence Committee chair on Wednesday accused the Justice Department of ignoring its request to investigate former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen for perjury before Congress. denounced.
Cohen, 57, who worked as Trump’s lawyer and fixer before rebelling against him, lied to the Intelligence Committee about various allegations related to the 45th president during testimony in February 2019. I admitted that I had followed it.
Intel Panel Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and Stefanik (R-New York) urged the Justice Department to pursue criminal charges against Cohen in November, but the department has not followed up. He claimed to have refused.
“The Biden administration’s attempt to block this investigation is yet another example of Biden’s legal actions against President Trump,” Stefanik said in a statement. “It’s time for Joe Biden to stop weaponizing the federal government against his major political opponents.”
In February 2019, Cohen appeared before the House Intelligence Committee and swore under oath that he did not remember President Trump asking him to inflate the value of real estate owned by the then-president in order to obtain more favorable loan terms. I testified.
Cohen was again asked whether he was asked to produce the books during President Trump’s civil fraud trial last year, in which the 45th president was found liable and ordered to collect more than $454 million. It was done.
“I was ordered by Mr. Trump to increase my total assets based on a number he arbitrarily selected…and my responsibility was to… [then-Trump Organization CFO] “Allen Weisselberg was primarily responsible for reverse engineering,” he said.
Mr. Cohen was later questioned by Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Alina Haba, about the inconsistency with his previous testimony, and when asked whether he had “lied under oath” to Congress, he answered “yes.” This crime carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
“Michael Cohen has no credibility. He is an admitted liar,” Turner said in a statement.
Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty in 2018 to charges including campaign finance violations related to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
In a follow-up letter to the Justice Department on Wednesday, Turner and Stefanik highlighted how the department pursued charges against now-imprisoned former Trump administration trade adviser Peter Navarro. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was also arrested on charges of contempt of Congress after refusing to appear before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
“The Biden Justice Department has filed the first contempt of Congress charge in nearly 40 years,” Turner and Stefanik wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland.
“Yet, despite Mr. Cohen’s admission that he lied under oath to Congress, the Biden Justice Department did nothing,” they continued. “The double standard is clear. The clear implication is that you have politicized and weaponized the Biden Justice Department to help his boss and hurt his political opponents.”
Both Mr. Stefanik and Mr. Turner are seeking approval of the initial letter to the Justice Department and an investigation into Mr. Cohen.
Mr. Cohen has emerged as a key witness in Mr. Trump’s hush-money criminal trial, which began in Manhattan last month. This week, reports surfaced that the former lawyer was discussing the case on his nightly TikTok stream in exchange for money.
Mr. Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide repayments of payments made to Mr. Cohen to erase negative coverage about the then-candidate.
The 77-year-old has maintained his innocence and denies wrongdoing.
Stefanik is widely seen as a front-runner in Trump’s veepstakes and has sought to support the former president as he battles an onslaught of legal challenges.
On Tuesday, she sent a letter to the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, requesting a review of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s handling of Trump’s four election-subversion charges.
Stefanik accused Smith of trying to expedite the case and actively interfering in the 2024 presidential election while seeking presidential immunity for Trump.
The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.
