Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former attorney, will publicly testify Wednesday before the House of Representatives Oversight Committee. Here are five things you should know ahead of the hearing:
Who's Michael Cohen?
Cohen, 52, was a top legal advisor to Trump in his real estate and branding business. He has since pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges, including arranging hush-money payments during the presidential campaign to women to keep them from talking publicly about affairs they had with Trump. Cohen is to begin a three-year prison sentence in May. After famously vowing he'd "take a bullet" for Trump, Cohen now strongly criticizes his former boss, saying his loyalty is to his country and family. Trump accused Cohen of "lying to reduce his jail time."
(In this April 11, 2018, file photo, Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former attorney, walks along a sidewalk in New York. The 52-year-old was once a top legal advisor to Trump in his real estate and branding business. Seth Wenig/AP).
What could Cohen say that we haven't heard before?
Under an agreement with the Democratic-controlled committee, Cohen won't talk about the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which Special Counsel Robert Mueller is still investigating. Cohen is expected to talk about the president's debts; whether Trump violated tax laws and financial disclosure requirements; and possible fraud at Trump's since-shuttered foundation. There could be some interesting revelations.
Some people think this may be like John Dean's testimony during the Watergate investigation. What happened then?
In testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee in June 1973, Dean, President Richard Nixon's counsel, famously testified about obstruction of justice at the highest levels of the White House. A little more than a year later, Nixon resigned. The parallels between Cohen and Dean aren't exact. But Wednesday, Cohen could crack open the inner workings of Trump's business empire and winning campaign. It will also be interesting to see how Republicans on the committee handle questioning, whether they will be deferential to a president who remains highly popular in his party.
(John Dean III, former White House aide in the Nixon Administration, adjusts his eyeglasses as he nears the end of reading his 245-page prepared statement before the Senate Watergate Committee in Washington, D.C., on June 25, 1973. In his seven-hour opening statement Dean said that the president was involved in the cover-up of the Watergate burglary. AP Photo.
Meanwhile, Cohen is expected to testify Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee and Thursday before the House Intelligence Committee in closed sessions. Those committees are looking at Russian interference in the 2016 election.
About the hearing Wednesday…
I first met Cohen during the 2016 campaign, when I interviewed Trump when he was vying for the Republican nomination. After the interview, Cohen threatened to revoke our future media access to Trump after I apparently asked questions that then-candidate didn't like (We didn't comply with his request to not air the interview, and we never lost our media credentials).
Which Florida members of the Oversight Committee could be at the hearing?
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrat
Now, with Trump in the White House and Cohen headed to prison, I will closely watch Wednesday's testimony and giving my analysis on Twitter and via Instagram Stories on the Spectrum News accounts. I will also respond to your questions during the hearing. I hope you'll join me!