WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2018) President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen must testify before the US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform now that he has pleaded guilty and implicated Trump in his crimes, the Committee's ranking member Elijah Cummings said in a letter on Wednesday.
"Yesterday, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to multiple Federal crimes and directly implicated President Trump in directing these crimes," Cummings said in the letter to Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy. "Given the gravity of these revelations, I request that you schedule a hearing as soon as possible before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to obtain sworn testimony directly from Mr. Cohen."
Cummings said Gowdy would hold the hearings if a Democrat was president, and should apply the same standard in this situation.
Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis said in an interview on Tuesday that his client would be willing to testify before any congressional committee without a grant of immunity, Cummings added.
On Tuesday, Cohen pleaded guilty to five counts of tax evasion, one count of making a false statement to a bank and two campaign finance violations.
As part of his plea deal, Cohen admitted to making payments to two women "in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office," court documents showed.
Elijah Cummings is a Democrat from the US state of Maryland.
