The ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), slammed Michael Cohen’s upcoming testimony, telling “Rising” in an interview that aired on Thursday that there should be more focus on hearing from former deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
“Of course I’m concerned about it,” Jordan told Hill.TV’s Buck Sexton when asked if he is worried Democratic lawmakers will block an explanation from McCabe and Rosenstein on reports they discussed removing Trump from office via the 25th Amendment.
“Instead of bringing in Rod Rosenstein and Andy McCabe to answer our questions, they’re bringing in Michael Cohen to testify in front of Congress next week,” he continued.
“Michael Cohen to testify in front of Congress, and in two weeks Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress,” Jordan said. “So that’s where the Democrats are taking this instead of obviously where it should go, which is Rod Rosenstein, Andy McCabe, under oath answering questions.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) announced on Wednesday that Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, would testify before the panel next week.
The same day, a federal judge granted Cohen’s request for a 60-day delay to the beginning of his prison sentence, citing his forthcoming congressional testimony as one reason.
Cohen was sentenced in 2018 to three years in prison for charges including lying to Congress, bank fraud and campaign finance violations, all crimes he committed while working for Trump.
Cohen had originally postponed his testimony, which was slated to take place earlier this month, citing threats from Trump and Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
The news on Cohen’s testimony comes after McCabe claimed last week that senior officials discussed the possibility of removing Trump under the 25th Amendment and that Rosenstein had been “counting votes or possible votes” among Cabinet members whose support would be needed.
Rosenstein has denied the claims, and McCabe said on Wednesday that he’s not sure whether Rosenstein “took any action” on an alleged proposal to use the 25th Amendment to oust Trump.
— Julia Manchester
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