Donald Trump’s former longtime attorney, Michael Cohen, has a busy dance card this week, tying off loose ends before he reports to prison on May 6 to begin a three-year sentence.
Today begins three days of congressional testimony, starting with a closed session before the Senate Intelligence Committee to testify on matters relating to the Russia investigation. Thursday he will again testify behind closed doors, this time before the House Intelligence Committee, but it is Wednesday’s public appearance before the House Oversight Committee that has people already talking. The special counsel’s office will not let him publicly discuss details of the Russia collusion probe, but Cohen will be allowed to testify on matters relating to the Trump Organization. This is expected to be blockbuster testimony, and people close to the matter are already leaking that Cohen is bringing the receipts.
Betsy Woodruff at the Daily Beast reports Cohen will bring evidence of who signed the $35,000 monthly checks to reimburse Michael Cohen for the hush money arrangement with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Whoever signed those checks may have also committed a federal crime. There are really only a handful of people who would’ve signed such a check: Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization (who has an immunity deal with the special counsel’s office), Donald Trump, or Donald Trump Jr.
But Woodruff reports something even more damning may be coming down the the pike for Donald Trump:
Cohen is also prepared to testify that he has evidence President Donald Trump committed crimes during his time in office, according to [a person with knowledge of his upcoming congressional testimony].
The Wall Street Journal has more on what Cohen might be bringing to the House Oversight Committee:
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former lawyer, will for the first time publicly accuse the president of criminal conduct while in office related to a hush-money payment to a porn star, a person familiar with his planned testimony before Congress said.
Appearing on Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee, Mr. Cohen also will make public some of Mr. Trump’s private financial statements and allege that Mr. Trump at times inflated or deflated his net worth for business and personal purposes, including avoiding paying property taxes, the person said. The financial statements were developed by Mr. Trump’s accountant, the person said. The Wall Street Journal hasn’t seen those statements.
Mr. Cohen’s testimony is expected to focus on his “behind-the-scenes” accounts of working for Mr. Trump for over a decade, a period during which Mr. Cohen will say he witnessed “lies, racism and cheating” by Mr. Trump, the person said.
Buckle up, friends. It’s going to be one hell of a week. If Michael Cohen provides clear evidence of crimes committed by Donald Trump, both before and after taking office, how long can Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and House Republicans continue to defend and protect him?