Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Sunday that Michael Cohen’s testimony that he has never been to Prague “undermines” the so-called Steele dossier, which alleges connections between President Trump and Russia.
“He said that, and that’s something you can verify. You can look at passports, you can look at travel,” the conservative lawmaker said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked if he believes that Cohen, who served as Trump’s personal attorney, has never been to Prague.
“So that undermines this whole dossier, which remember, was the basis for this whole crazy investigation to begin with,” Jordan added.
{mosads}The dossier, which was compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, detailed efforts by Russia to coordinate with the Trump campaign to meddle in the 2016 presidential election. The dossier stated that Cohen met with Russian officials in Prague in 2016.
Cohen said during testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee last week that he has never been to Prague.
Several details of the dossier have been confirmed, but some of its details have not been verified.
NBC host Chuck Todd on Sunday pushed back on Jordan’s claim that the dossier was the basis for the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
“That isn’t the facts,” Todd said. “It is something that you believe, but it has not been proven.”
Republicans have said that the dossier was used as the basis for a warrant to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, ultimately leading to the Russia investigation.
But former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said last year that Republicans in Congress had mischaracterized the role of the dossier in launching the investigation.