House Republicans issue criminal referral against Michael Cohen over NY fraud trial testimony

Two Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have recommended the Justice Department look at pursuing charges against former Trump attorney Michael Cohen for contradictory testimony he gave last month in former President Trump’s fraud trial in New York.

The criminal referral letter — sent by House Intelligence Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and committee member Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) — accuses Cohen of committing perjury and having “knowingly made false statements” before the congressional panel four years ago.

“That Mr. Cohen was willing to openly and brazenly state at trial that he lied to Congress on this specific issue is startling,” the referral letter reads. “His willingness to make such a statement alone should necessitate an investigation.”

While it urges prosecutors to take action, a criminal referral is largely symbolic and does not hold any legal weight.

Cohen’s lawyer, Jeffrey K. Levine, called the referral “meritless” and based only on an “out-of-context, cherry picked, answer from a 2019 Intelligence Committee deposition transcript” in a statement to The Hill.

Amid cross-examination by Trump’s legal team late last month, Cohen testified that he lied under oath to the House Intelligence Committee in February 2019 when asked about the former president’s personal financial statements during a deposition.

In that 2019 testimony, the former president’s longtime lawyer and fixer said Trump did not ask him to inflate the numbers detailed in his statements of financial condition — documents that detail the value of the Trump Organization’s various assets.

But in New York last month, Cohen told state lawyers that Trump did direct him and former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg to “reverse engineer” the former president’s assets “in order to achieve the number that Trump had tasked us with.”

Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, tore into Cohen over the discrepancy during cross-examination.

“Mr. Cohen, were you being honest in front of the Permanent Select Committee when you testified on Feb. 28, 2019?” Habba asked.

“No,” Cohen replied.

“So you lied under oath in February of 2019? Is that your testimony?” Habba pressed.

“Yes,” Cohen said.

After the cross-examination, Cohen attempted to clarify his comments by claiming Trump “speaks like a mob boss” and “tell(s) you without specifically telling you” what to do. He also accused Trump’s legal team of “cherry-picking” his testimony to pigeonhole him into contradicting himself. Cohen’s “mob boss” comment is similar to the remarks he made during his congressional testimony in 2019.

“Upon re-direct by the prosecution, and what the Representatives chose not to include in their referral letter, was Mr. Cohen clarified his trial testimony,” Levine said in his statement to The Hill. “The prosecution had Mr. Cohen read through the 2019 deposition testimony the defense omitted. In doing so Mr. Cohen was able to provide necessary context and corrected his trial testimony that he was truthful to the Committee.”

Stefanik said in a statement Tuesday that the “Biden Justice Department must take off its partisan blinders and investigate disgraced fraudster and disbarred attorney Michael Cohen.”

It’s the second time in as many weeks that Stefanik, the House Republican Conference chair, has sought to defend Trump amid his civil fraud trial in New York. Last week, she filed an ethics complaint against the judge overseeing the trial, accusing him of “inappropriate bias and judicial intemperance.” The case is one of several Trump is fighting as he seeks to again become the GOP’s presidential nominee next year.

The sprawling trial in which Cohen testified involves Trump, the Trump Organization and several executives, including the former president’s adult sons. New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) sued them last year, claiming the business falsely inflated and deflated the value of its assets to receive lower taxes and better insurance coverage.

Trump’s personal financial statements — and skewed numbers within them — are at the heart of the attorney general’s case. The documents were sent to banks and ensurers to secure loans and deals, which the state asserts is evidence of fraud.

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that James had proved the crux of her case before the trial began, finding the Trumps and their business liable for fraud. The decision stripped some of Trump’s business licenses and put several iconic Trump properties at risk, though an appeals court paused the cancellation of the licenses until it hears the former president’s case.

Cohen was previously convicted on eight charges, including tax evasion and campaign finance violations. He was sentenced to three years in prison but earned early release due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Updated 3:31 p.m.