Cohen Will Testify Before House Intel

News  |  Jan 28, 2019

Michael Cohen will testify behind closed doors before the House Intelligence Committee on February 8th, according to a statement committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) issued Monday. 

ABC News

"I want to thank Michael Cohen for agreeing to appear voluntarily before the Committee for closed testimony on February 8, 2019," the statement read.

Presumably, House Republicans will have designated their committee members by then. 

The Daily Beast:

The House Republican leadership has yet to name the intelligence committee’s Republican membership for the new Congress, with the exception of retaining Devin Nunes as ranking Republican. Without doing so, the committee is stalled—no hearings, no internal business meetings. Democrats announced their membership roster on Jan. 16, adding Val Demings, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Sean Patrick Maloney, and Peter Welch to their 10 current members. 

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It’s not clear what the holdup is. “That will be announced when it is ready,” said Matt Sparks, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who did not address the reasons for the delay.

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“We’re ready to get going,” Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat on the panel, told The Daily Beast. “We are hopeful those appointments will be made early next week, and as soon as they are, we will get to work.”

When Cohen testifies, he will be represented by a new defense team. 

The Hill:

[Lanny] Davis said in a statement that Cohen will no longer be represented by Guy Petrillo and Amy Lester.

Michael Monico, a former U.S. attorney, and Barry Spevack will now represent Cohen in his work with special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, federal prosecutors and congressional committees.

“We look forward to helping Mr. Cohen fulfill what he has told us is his only mission - to tell the truth as he knows it and to turn the corner on his past life and taking ownership for his past mistakes by cooperating as best as he can with all governmental authorities in search of the truth,” Monico and Spevack said in a joint statement.

Cohen had hired Petrillo in June. The attorney used to lead the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where Cohen had been under criminal investigation.

Trump's former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen to testify behind closed doors to House Intelligence Committee on Feb. 8, chairman says (ABC News)

Dithering GOP Stalls House’s New Trump-Russia Probe (Daily Beast)

Cohen changes legal team amid push for congressional testimony (The Hill)