CNN's Jeffrey Toobin: If Dems win House, they could force Cohen to testify publicly

Another grand reason to vote!!

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/402939-jeffrey-toobin-if-dems-win-house-they-could-force-cohen-to-testify

CNN's Jeffrey Toobin: If Dems win House, they could force Cohen to testify publicly
By Brett Samuels - 08/21/18 07:10 PM EDT


CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Tuesday that if Democrats win control of the House, they could work with special counsel Robert Mueller to allow President Trump's former longtime attorney Michael Cohen to testify before Congress.

"Remember, Mueller and a Democratic House can now give Michael Cohen immunity without fear of jeopardizing any prosecution, since he's already pleaded guilty," Toobin tweeted after Cohen pleaded guilty to tax fraud, bank fraud and campaign finance law violations.

"That means Cohen would have to testify in grand jury and before Congress in public. We will hear more from Cohen," added Toobin, who previously warned it would be an "impeachable offense" for Trump to pardon Cohen.

Link to tweet

Cohen pleaded guilty in a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday afternoon to eight counts total, including five counts of tax evasion and one count of making a false statement to a financial institution.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of making an excessive campaign contribution on Oct. 27, 2016, which is the same date Cohen finalized a payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels as part of a nondisclosure agreement over an affair Daniels alleges she had with Trump.

Cohen said he did so at the direction of “a candidate for federal office.” He did not mention Trump by name.

Trump initially denied knowing anything about the payment to Daniels, but later acknowledged that he reimbursed Cohen for the expense, which he insisted had nothing to do with the campaign.

Cohen's plea deal did not include an agreement to cooperate with investigators, though The New York Times reported it does not preclude him from working with Mueller in the future.

Cohen, who said in September he would “take a bullet” for the president, was once one of Trump's closest associates. He spent years working for the Trump Organization, and until recently served as the deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

He is due back in court in December for sentencing.