Comer, Jordan refer Michael Cohen to DOJ for allegedly lying to Congress

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Wednesday referred Michael Cohen to the Department of Justice for allegedly lying to Congress in 2019.

"As indicated in the 2019 letter, Cohen, while testifying under oath before the House Oversight Committee, made willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact that were contradicted by the record established by the Justice Department in United States v. Cohen," the pair wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland. "Cohen also made statements to the Oversight Committee that were contradicted by witnesses with firsthand knowledge of the subject matter."

The letter outlines several claims Cohen made during the testimony, including his denial of crimes to which he later pleaded guilty.

"In 2023, Cohen admitted to lying to Congress during a separate proceeding before Congress in 2019. At a hearing in the politicized lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General against President Trump, Cohen admitted to lying under oath during a 2019 deposition before HPSCI," they continued.

"President Trump’s attorney asked Cohen if he lied during the deposition when testifying about whether he was directed to inflate certain financial numbers, to which Cohen responded, 'Yes.' This revelation in court prompted HPSCI to refer Cohen again to the Justice Department for perjury and knowingly making false statements to Congress," they went on.

"His testimony was full of intentionally false statements," Comer and Jordan wrote. "And now, a popularly elected, partisan prosecutor is using this convicted liar to carry out his politically motivated prosecution of a former president. Therefore, we again request that the Justice Department investigate whether any of Mr. Cohen’s testimony warrants another charge" over possible violations of federal law.

The letter follows a March decision from Judge Jesse M. Furman denying Cohen an early end to his supervised release, saying "Cohen repeatedly and unambiguously testified at the state court trial that he was not guilty of tax evasion and that he had lied under oath."

His testimony, the judge said, "gives rise to two possibilities: one, Cohen committed perjury when he pleaded guilty before Judge Pauley or, two, Cohen committed perjury in his October 2023 testimony." 

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.