FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2018 file photo, Michael Cohen, former lawyer to President Donald Trump, leaves his apartment building in New York. A report by BuzzFeed News, citing two unnamed law enforcement officials, says that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress and that Cohen regularly briefed Trump on the project. The Associated Press has not independently confirmed the report. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Michael Cohen, President Trump's onetime personal attorney, will testify publicly before the House Oversight and Reform Committee next week, the panel's chairman announced late Wednesday.
"I am pleased to announce that Michael Cohen’s public testimony before the Oversight Committee is back on, despite efforts by some to intimidate his family members and prevent him from appearing," Rep Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said in a statement. "Congress has an obligation under the Constitution to conduct independent and robust oversight of the Executive Branch, and this hearing is one step in that process."
Cohen was originally scheduled to appear before the committee on Feb. 7, but postponed that appearance last month, citing what his attorney Lanny Davis described as "ongoing threats against his family from President Trump and [Trump attorney Rudolph] Giuliani ... as well as Mr. Cohen's continued cooperation with ongoing investigations." Cohen will now appear before the Oversight Committee on Feb. 27, one day before he is scheduled to be interviewed behind closed doors by the House Intelligence Committee.
MICHAEL COHEN PRISON REPORT DATE PUSHED BACK TO MAY 6
Cohen's attorneys say he will also testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee sometime this month, but a date has not been formally set.
"The schedule has now been set," Cohen tweeted Wednesday evening. "Looking forward to the #American people hearing my story in my voice!"
According to a memo sent out by committee staff, Cohen's appearance before the oversight panel will concern various financial issues related to the 2016 presidential campaign, including payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal that federal prosecutors in New York say were directed by Trump. The hearing will also examine whether Trump has complied with campaign finance and tax laws, his ties to the Trump International Hotel in Washington and "potential and actual conflicts of interest."
Cohen will not be questioned about the ongoing investigations by Special Counsel Robert Mueller or the House and Senate Intelligence Committees into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.
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Earlier Wednesday, a federal judge approved Cohen's request to push back the date he is scheduled to report to federal prison by two months. Cohen's attorney's had pushed for the postponement, saying he had recently undergone shoulder surgery and needed the extra time to complete physical therapy as well as his congressional testimony.
Cohen was originally scheduled to report to jail on March 6 to begin serving a three-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to campaign finance and other violations last year. He is now scheduled to report to jail May 6.
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