House Intel Committee releases Cohen's closed-door testimony

The House Intelligence Committee voted Monday to publicly release testimony and exhibits provided by President Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.

Cohen testified before the committee behind closed doors in February and March of this year. The transcript of the February session runs 238 pages, and the March testimony spans 403 pages. The committee voted 12 to 7 to release the transcripts Monday evening.

Cohen has said he lied to Congress about Mr. Trump’s involvement in a Moscow Trump Tower project, and he also claimed the president’s lawyers, including Jay Sekulow, had edited his 2017 testimony before the Senate about the timing of the project. Cohen provided the House Intelligence Committee with his original 2017 statement for his Senate testimony and included all the versions of the testimony that had been previously submitted.

Attorneys for Sekulow dismissed Cohen’s statements about Sekulow.

“Michael Cohen’s alleged statements are more of the same from him and confirm the observations of prosecutors in the Southern District of New York that Cohen’s ‘instinct to blame others is strong,'” attorneys for Sekulow said. “That this or any Committee would rely on the word of Michael Cohen for any purpose — much less to try and pierce the attorney-client privilege and discover confidential communications of four respected lawyers — defies logic, well-established law and common sense.” 

The committee has been probing whether attorneys for the president and his family obstructed its Russia investigation by shaping testimony from key witnesses, including Cohen.

Cohen reported to federal prison earlier this month to begin serving a three-year sentence for crimes including tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations.

This is a developing story and will be updated.