Former Trump lawyer Cohen to testify to Congress before entering prison: CNBC
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen will testify before three congressional committees before he enters jail on March 6, CNBC reported on Friday, citing Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis.
Cohen is expected to appear before closed sessions of the House and Senate intelligence committees and in a public session of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, CNBC said.
Cohen, who was sentenced to three years in prison in December, canceled a planned Tuesday appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee after undergoing surgery on his shoulder.
His decision not to appear drew an angry response from Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr after Cohen was seen dining out in New York in recent days with his wife and some friends.
“He’s already stiffed us on being in Washington today because of an illness,” CNBC quoted Burr as saying on Tuesday. “You have ... on Twitter, a reporter reported he was having a wild night Saturday night eating out in New York with five buddies. Didn’t seem to have any physical limitations. And he was out with his wife last night.”
Davis said later that Cohen was suffering pain from the surgery and was on medication that would make it impossible for him to testify this week, CNBC reported. Davis did not immediately respond to a request to comment from Reuters.
In December, Cohen was sentenced by a federal judge to three years in prison for crimes including orchestrating hush payments to women who said they had affairs with Trump, in violation of campaign laws before the 2016 election. Trump denies having had sex with either of the women.
Reporting by Tim Ahmann; Editing by David Alexander and David Gregorio
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