Former President Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen. (Credit: Getty Images/Michael Cohen TikTok)
In the letter Wednesday, Jordan and Comer remind Garland that Republicans, in February 2019, referred Cohen to the Justice Department "for perjury and knowingly making false statements during his testimony" before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 27, 2019.
Jordan and Comer said, at the time, members cited "six specific lies told by Cohen and urged the Justice Department to take appropriate action."
"Last year, we learned that Cohen separately lied again before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in a 2019 deposition," they wrote. Cohen appeared to admit to being dishonest in Trump's non-jury civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit.
"Cohen’s testimony is now the basis for a politically motivated prosecution of a former president and current declared candidate for that office," Jordan and Comer wrote. "In light of the reliance on the testimony from this repeated liar, we reiterate our concerns and ask what the Justice Department has done to hold Cohen accountable for his false statements to Congress."
Cohen, during his February 2019 testimony, "made willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact that were contradicted by the record established by the Justice Department in United States v. Cohen," they wrote. Jordan and Comer also said Cohen made statements that were contradicted by witnesses with firsthand knowledge of the subject.
Those lies, according to Jordan and Comer, included Cohen denying committing various fraudulent acts, to which he had pleaded guilty in federal court.
Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Most recently, Jordan and Comer said, was in October 2023, when Cohen "admitted to lying to Congress" during his testimony in the Letitia James case against Trump.
When asked if he was being "honest" in front of the House Intelligence Committee in February 2019, Cohen testified: "No."
"So you lied under oath in February of 2019? Is that your testimony?" Trump attorney Alina Habba asked him.
"Yes," Cohen replied.
The revelation prompted current House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and committee member, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., in October to refer Cohen again to the DOJ for perjury and knowingly making false statements to Congress.
Just last week, Turner and Stefanik doubled down on their calls for another DOJ investigation into Bragg’s "star witness."
"Currently, Manhattan’s popularly elected District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, is using Cohen as his star witness in an ongoing criminal prosecution of President Donald Trump," Jordan and Comer wrote, noting that Bragg’s case "relies heavily on Cohen’s testimony and credibility."
But the lawmakers said, in short, "to prosecute President Trump, Bragg has revived this ‘zombie’ case relying on a known—and convicted—liar and his testimony at a congressional hearing in which he lied at least six times."
Jordan and Comer stressed that Bragg, "a popularly elected, partisan prosecutor is using this convicted liar to carry out his politically motivated prosecution of a former president."
"Therefore, we again request that the Justice Department investigate whether any of Mr. Cohen’s testimony warrants another charge" for violating the law, they wrote.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks to speak to the press at the end of the day during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 7, 2024 in New York CitY.
"They call it a legal expense — and that’s what it was. It was a legal expense," Trump told Fox News Digital. "It was legal fees paid to a lawyer — that’s called a legal expense."
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
The charges are related to alleged payments made ahead of the 2016 presidential election to silence Daniels about an alleged 2006 extramarital affair with Trump.
Bragg must convince the jury that not only did Trump falsify the business records related to alleged hush money payments, but that he did so in furtherance of another crime: conspiracy to promote or prevent election, which is a felony.
On their own, falsifying business records and conspiracy to promote or prevent election are misdemeanor charges.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-gop-convicted-liar-michael-cohen-urges-justice-department-investigate-recent-lies