BuzzFeed News' reporting that President Trump instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress is generating noticeably different responses from Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
Democrats said that if the report is accurate, Trump must quickly be held to account for his role in the perjury, with some raising the specter of impeachment.
“The allegation that the President of the United States may have suborned perjury before our committee in an effort to curtail the investigation and cover up his business dealings with Russia is among the most serious to date,” wrote Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. “We will do what’s necessary to find out if it’s true.”
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“If this is true, what it means is this is more evidence that the president has violated his oath of office,” [Rep. Ted] Deutch (D-FL) said. “If he told Michael Cohen to lie to Congress, if he suborned perjury, this is as serious as it gets.”
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“If the @Buzzfeed story is true, President Trump must resign or be impeached,” tweeted Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee.
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“I mean everything feels like a bombshell and we are all numb but I’m pretty sure if this story is true it’s — I’m going to be careful with my words here — something that congress must investigate thoroughly,” tweeted Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) tweeted, “Listen, if Mueller does have multiple sources confirming Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress, then we need to know this ASAP. Mueller shouldn’t end his inquiry, but it’s about time for him to show Congress his cards before it’s too late for us to act.”
Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, was blunt in his reaction. “If the President directed [Michael] Cohen to lie to Congress, that is obstruction of justice. Period. Full stop,” he tweeted Thursday night.
“THIS IS OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE,” tweeted Rep. Ted Lieu of California.
“This stunning Trump Tower Moscow story establishes a clear case of Obstruction of Justice, a felony. I've lost count now how many times @realDonaldTrump has engaged in Obstruction of Justice,” Lieu wrote in another post, adding: “Oh, fyi the first Article of Impeachment for Richard Nixon was Obstruction of Justice.”
Republicans, meanwhile, are saying very little. Those willing to comment either are taking a wait-and-see stance or are taking the White House's lead and attacking Cohen's credibility.
CNN:
Sen. James Lankford told CNN on Friday that "we are waiting to see what's true" from the report. The Oklahoma Republican said that if Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress, "that's a very big issue," but added, "we've got to get both sides of the story and be able to get the facts out."
When asked if that would be an impeachable offense, Lankford wouldn't speculate.
"I'm not going to even start to be able to go there. I want to be able to get all the facts on this as we should," he said.
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Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of Senate Republican leadership, skirted a CNN question asking if it would be an impeachable offense if Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress.
"It's pretty hypothetical and I'm not going to comment on that process," the Missouri Republican said.
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"Let's see what Mr. Cohen says and how credible it appears to be," he said, a reference to the fact that Cohen is expected to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee next month.
When asked about the report, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told CNN that his focus has been on the ongoing partial government shutdown.
"I've spent the last 24 hours focused on one thing and one thing only and that's getting us out of this government shutdown," Portman said. "So my view on all this, as you know, is that the Mueller investigation is the place to sift all this out."
When asked if it would be an impeachable offense, Portman said: "Honestly I haven't even seen the reports. I'm not focused on that right now."
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Asked to comment on the report on Friday, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine told CNN that she is "sure that will be something that will be looked into by both the congressional investigators in the Senate and the House and by Mr. Mueller."
Portman told CNN that he believes the Mueller investigation needs to "continue unimpeded," though he added that he believes it should wrap up soon so that the public can "have some resolution."
"To have the Mueller investigation be able to continue unimpeded is important," he said. "I also think it ought to be done in a timely way. It's been a couple of years. We're ready. The American people are ready to have some resolution. My hope is this will be included as part of the investigation and we'll get to the bottom of everything."
Republican Sen. Richard Burr, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, declined to comment on Friday when asked about the report. His office, through a spokesman, reiterated that Burr has "said on multiple occasions that the Committee has asked Michael Cohen to return for additional interviews."
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Earlier this week, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked Trump's attorney general nominee, William Barr, if it would be obstruction of justice if the president asked someone to give false testimony. Barr answered in the affirmative.
“So if there was some reason to believe that the president tried to coach somebody not to testify or testify falsely, that could be obstruction of justice,” Graham asked.
“Yes. Under an obstruction statute, yes,” Barr responded, adding that it would also include if the president tried to conceal evidence.
The possibility Mueller has proof the president broke the law is pushing members of Congress, who otherwise may have feared being accused of moving too fast too soon, to reconsider impeachment. The idea of waiting for a final special counsel report is losing its appeal.
The comments mark a noticeable shift in what had been the standard party line on the possibility of impeachment—that Democrats should wait to act until after Mueller issues his final report. But Attorney General nominee Bill Barr’s refusal to commit to providing Mueller’s findings to Congress and to the public, combined with BuzzFeed’s implication that the president committed a felony while in office, has given Democrats a new sense of urgency—and they won’t necessarily wait to hold Trump accountable, I’m told, if they conclude that he knowingly obstructed justice to hide his involvement in business negotiations with the Kremlin during the election.
“The conduct alleged by BuzzFeed is consistent with other, independent evidence of Donald Trump as candidate instructing others to lie and Donald Trump as president obstructing justice,” Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell, who sits on both the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, told me. “Evidence is not a conclusion. It must be tested. We should do all we can in Congress with the subpoena power and oversight responsibility to see if Trump acted this way. I don’t think anyone will be surprised if it’s confirmed.”
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Representative Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee—the panel with the power to begin impeachment proceedings against the president—also promised to “get to the bottom of it.”
Democrats demand investigation after report that Trump ordered Michael Cohen to lie to Congress (WaPo)
Republicans stay mum on bombshell BuzzFeed reporting (CNN)
Impeachment talk grows louder after report Trump told Cohen to lie to Congress (NBC News)
Why Democrats Have Suddenly Started Talking About Impeachment (The Atlantic)
Democrats vow to investigate whether Trump told Cohen to lie before Congress (Politico)