Panel cancels meeting with Trump lawyer
WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday abruptly postponed an interview with President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, shortly after the publication of his opening statement, which asserted his innocence and defended the president.
Cohen was prepared to tell the committee’s investigators that the president’s critics were using rumors and innuendo about Russian interference in the election in an attempt to undercut Trump’s presidency. But senators shut down the closed-door hearing, accusing Cohen of “releasing a public statement” despite “requests that he refrain from public comment.”
The surprising move was seen by some in Trump’s camp as a sign that lawmakers wanted to control the information and prevent witnesses from telling their stories publicly. Four congressional committees and a Justice Department special counsel are investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether anyone around Trump was involved.
Witnesses in criminal investigations are allowed to defend themselves publicly, and other members of Trump’s inner circle have released statements when they met with Capitol Hill investigators. Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, read a statement to reporters outside the White House.
Cohen gave Senate investigators his written statement, which was also published in several news publications including the New York Times. Cohen declared that he had no involvement with Russian election meddling and knew of nobody who did.
“There are some in this country who do not care about the facts, but simply want to politicize this issue, choosing to presume guilt — rather than presuming innocence — so as to discredit our lawfully elected president in the public eye and to shame his supporters in the public square,” Cohen said in the statement. “This is un-American.”
Less than an hour after arriving, however, Cohen and his lawyer left the hearing room. Cohen’s lawyer, Steve Ryan, told reporters on Capitol Hill that Cohen “looked forward to answering all of their questions” at a later date. Cohen largely ignored shouted questions, but told reporters, “I’ll be back.”
The senior members of the committee, Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Mark Warner, D-Va., issued a statement saying that they would reschedule Cohen’s appearance and that he would appear publicly.
“The committee expects witnesses in this investigation to work in good faith with the Senate,” they said.
Cohen is the latest highprofile witness connected to the presidential campaign to meet with congressional investigators. Nicholas Fandos and Matt Apuzzo are New York Times writers.