President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen appeared Wednesday on Capitol Hill before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform to be questioned about alleged wrongdoing by the president.
Watch the first part of the hearing, via NPR's Facebook:
TO WATCH MORE — NPR's Facebook page has five more videos covering Cohen's testimony from throughout the day.
Vermont Rep. Peter Welch, a member of the House Oversight Committee, had the opportunity to question Cohen during Wednesday's hearing.
In response to Welch's questioning, Cohen testified that Trump was told ahead of time about WikiLeaks' plan to release stolen emails meant to damage Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Cohen said Trump was told of this impending email dump during a speaker phone conversation with Roger Stone.
Welch then asked Cohen if Trump ever alerted the FBI about the stolen emails.
"He never expressed that to me," Cohen responded.
Watch a video of Welch's questioning, via his office:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XGpevCU3Ro&t=207s
Welch is also on the House Intelligence Committee which Cohen is set to appear before Thursday, however that will be a closed session.
Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal counts in August 2018, and then in November also pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. In December, Cohen was sentenced to serve three years in prison — as NPR notes, Cohen's sentence is set to begin later this spring.
Read more from NPR:
- "5 Revelations From Cohen: 2017 Checks, 'Catch-And-Kill,' Possible Book Deal" [Feb. 28]
- "Michael Cohen Calls Trump A 'Racist' And A 'Con Man' In Scathing Testimony" [Feb. 27]
- "Michael Cohen To Testify Trump Knew About WikiLeaks Contact During 2016 Campaign" [Feb. 27]
- "Cohen To Detail Alleged Trump Lawbreaking. White House: He's A 'Convicted Liar'" [Feb. 26]
- "Get Caught Up On Michael Cohen, Trump's Ex-Lawyer, And His Big Week In D.C." [Feb. 26]
This post was updated at 4:09 p.m. to include information about Welch's questioning, and again at 5:54 p.m. following the conclusion of the hearing. VPR had been carrying NPR's special coverage of the testimony on the air earlier in the day.
