Panel chairman rejects calls for new inquiry on Cohen

WASHINGTON -- The House Oversight Committee chairman Wednesday rejected Republican calls for a new investigation into President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen and whether he again lied to Congress.

But Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., left open the possibility of further action against Cohen if new evidence of perjury is found.

Cummings' statement came the day after a Cohen attorney sent him a letter clarifying Cohen's remarks and acknowledging that he "could have been clearer and more complete" during an exchange about whether he ever sought a pardon from Trump.

"Our practice on this Committee is to give witnesses an opportunity to clarify their testimony, and that is what Mr. Cohen has done," Cummings said. "I do not see the need for further action -- at least at this time."

Cohen testified before the Oversight panel on Feb. 27 to publicly tell his side of the story. He is going to jail for committing several crimes, including lying to Congress, that he says were done to protect Trump.

During his testimony, Cohen told the committee: "I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from President Trump."

Trump challenged that, tweeting that Cohen had "directly asked" him for a pardon.

Later, Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis clarified that Cohen had directed a former attorney to discuss with Trump's lawyers the possibility of a pardon, but that Cohen had never sought one from Trump directly.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Oversight's ranking Republican, asked Cummings before an unrelated hearing last week what he planned to do to hold Cohen "accountable."

But Republicans were already calling for an investigation before the discrepancy over the pardon came out.

The day after Cohen testified, Jordan and Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr submitting evidence that they allege shows Cohen lied during his appearance. That initial document did not include a reference to Cohen seeking a pardon from Trump, but included six other references to times the pair believed Cohen committed perjury.

Also Wednesday, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee suggested that former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker may have had conversations with Trump about Cohen's legal troubles, saying that Whitaker "did not deny" the conversations during a private meeting on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., did not get into the specifics of what Whitaker said when he met with Nadler and the top Republican on the panel, Georgia Rep. Doug Collins. Collins said he heard Whitaker's comments differently and maintained that Whitaker said he "had not talked with the president about Mr. Cohen at all." Two Republican staff members in the room backed up Collins' version. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential meeting.

Whitaker returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday after Democrats said they wanted him to clarify his open testimony before the Judiciary panel in February. Nadler said he had questions about whether Trump had "lashed out" at Whitaker after Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.

News reports said Trump did lash out at Whitaker, but Whitaker said in the hearing that he did not. In a letter to Whitaker asking for him to return and clarify his comments, Nadler said the committee "has identified several individuals with direct knowledge of the phone calls you denied receiving" from the White House.

After Wednesday's meeting, Nadler said that "unlike in the hearing room, Mr. Whitaker did not deny that the president called him to discuss the Michael Cohen case."

Nadler also said after the meeting that Whitaker was "directly involved" in conversations about whether to fire "one or more" U.S. attorneys and that he was "involved in conversations" about the Southern District of New York's case against Cohen and whether it might have gone too far.

Collins said Whitaker suggested that the conversations about district attorneys were normal personnel issues, and to characterize those comments otherwise was "an overreach and a stretch." Collins added that Whitaker said he hadn't had any conversations with officials in the Southern District of New York.

Nadler said he wasn't sure what the next steps would be after hearing from Whitaker. He said the committee would "analyze the revelations and see where they lead."

Information for this article was contributed by Colby Itkowitz of The Washington Post; and by Mary Clare Jalonick of The Associated Press.

A Section on 03/14/2019

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