House Intel Committee Subpoenas Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen
Michael Cohen Image by Getty Images
By Aiden Pink May 31, 2017
President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has been subpoenaed by the House Intelligence Committee as part of their investigation into Russia’s influence on the 2016 presidential election.
The committee also issued subpoenas to former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who resigned under pressure after failing to disclose meetings with Russian officials, as well as businesses owned by the two men.
Cohen, known within the Trump Organization as Donald Trump’s “pit bull,” had previously received an “invitation to provide information and testimony” to the committee, which has no legal bearing. Cohen did not cooperate with that request, telling CNN on Tuesday that the request “was poorly phrased, overly broad and not capable of being answered,” and that he considered it a “total fishing expedition.”
Cohen also told CNN that if he was subpoenaed, “I will comply — and gladly — as I have nothing to hide. There is no shred of evidence that implicates me.”
The New York Times reported earlier this year that Cohen hand-delivered to Flynn a proposal by a Ukrainian lawmaker to lift American sanctions on Russia in return for the withdrawal of pro-Russia separatists from Eastern Ukraine.
Contact Aiden Pink at pink@forward.com or on Twitter, @aidenpink.
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