Dem lawmakers call for Cohen to testify to Congress after guilty plea

Democrats in the House want Michael Cohen, the president’s longtime attorney, to testify on a number of investigations they plan to launch upon taking control of the House in January.

Several key House Democrats on committees such as the House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee told Politico that Cohen could be an invaluable witness for questions related to the Trump campaign and the president’s business dealings.

“He’s been at the nexus of so many different issues for so long, and given that Mr. Cohen was the president’s confidant and attorney, he knows a lot and he can shed a lot of light,” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) told the outlet.

{mosads}Cohen is the “perfect witness,” Krishnamoorthi added. “I think that it will be good to hear him out and figure out what he knows.”

“Cohen knows where the documents and evidence are to actually back up his statements or to refute something what the president says, so that’s all the more reason that he should be brought in at some point,” the Illinois Democrat continued.

Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin (D), who sits on the Judiciary panel, agreed.

“[Cohen] has a lot to say about a lot of different things that are in the preview of the Oversight Committee and the Judiciary Committee, so I would expect that he has something to contribute to the congressional investigations of the lawlessness of the Trump administration,” Raskin told Politico.

Cohen made headlines Thursday when he plead guilty to lying to Congress about the president’s business dealings in Russia with the aim of deterring investigations in to the Trump campaign.

The move shocked Washington as the president headed off to Argentina for a summit of G20 nations, but the president told reporters that his former lawyer was a “weak person” who was attempting to receive a reduced sentence by lying.

“He’s trying to get a much lesser sentence by making up the story,” Trump said Thursday.

Cohen previously plead guilty to several federal crimes earlier this year, including campaign finance violations. He is expected to be sentenced next month.