Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows have referred Michael Cohen to the Department of Justice for alleged perjury during his hearing before the House Oversight Committee this week.
The two Republican lawmakers penned a letter to Attorney General William Barr Thursday claiming the former lawyer for the President had “willfully and intentionally” made false statements before the committee.
“We write to refer significant evidence that Michael D. Cohen committed perjury and knowingly made false statements during his testimony before an Oversight and Reform Committee hearing,” they wrote.
The pair added that “Cohen made what appear to be numerous willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact contradicted by the record established by the Justice Department in United States v. Cohen.”
Incredibly as a result of Cohen’s pathological lying, Cohen perjured his way into possibly yet another DOJ investigation. He came there to lie his way into a reduction of sentence and left looking at another sentence.
— Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) February 28, 2019
Fraud
The main point of contention appears to be Cohen’s denial of having committed bank fraud, something he specifically pleaded guilty to.
During his testimony, Cohen claimed he “never defrauded any bank,” a lie that “materially affects the Committee’s assessment of his credibility,” according to Meadows and Jordan.
?#BREAKING: Read @Jim_Jordan & @RepMarkMeadows’s letter referring #MichaelCohen to the Department of Justice for perjury and knowingly making false statements before the Committee at yesterday’s hearing.https://t.co/UYgjsNrA7A
— Oversight Committee Republicans (@GOPoversight) February 28, 2019
In reality, Cohen had pleaded guilty to five counts of tax evasion, one count of making false statements to a banking institution, one count of causing an unlawful corporate contribution, and one count of excessive campaign contributions.
More Legal Troubles
Meadows also tweeted that he had referred Cohen for criminal investigation due to violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
I just entered a referral for criminal investigation of Michael Cohen, who violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act by illegally lobbying on behalf of foreign entities without registering
Cohen talks about “blind loyalty.” His real blind loyalty? It’s to the almighty dollar.
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) February 27, 2019
Others with direct knowledge of Cohen’s activities claim he lied to Congress when he spoke of his intentions in trying to get a job in the White House.
“I was extremely proud to be the personal attorney for the President of the United States of America,” Cohen told lawmakers. “I did not want to go to the White House.”
“In truth, he actively lobbied anyone that would listen for the Chief of Staff role or anything else,” Donald Trump Jr. noted. “Plenty of reporters know it. He can’t help but perjure himself.”
I bet there dozens of people that would swear under oath that this is a lie. Including me.
Michael Cohen Claims He Did Not Want White House Job. https://t.co/CtBfRpVkz5
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 27, 2019
According to the letter, Cohen also lied about the establishment of a Twitter account known as @WomenForCohen, contradicted previous testimony in regards to payments made to Stormy Daniels, and made false statements about what drove him to allegedly do these things on behalf of President Trump.
In closing, Jordan and Meadows described Cohen’s testimony as “a spectacular and brazen attempt to knowing and willfully testify falsely and fictitiously to numerous material facts.”
In short, the liar and convicted criminal lied and could be convicted yet again,
