Ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to testify before Congress next week

Michael D. Cohen has agreed to testify in public next Wednesday before Congress about his work as President Trump’s personal lawyer and longtime fixer, but lawmakers said they would limit the scope of their questioning in deference to the special counsel.

Cohen had originally been scheduled to testify on February 7 but his adviser Lanny Davis said he cancelled because of threats against his family from Trump.

“I am pleased to announce that Michael Cohen’s public testimony before the Oversight Committee is back on, despite efforts by some to intimidate his family members and prevent him from appearing,” House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings said in a statement.

The hearing next week before the House Oversight and Reform Committee will give Cohen, once one of Trump’s most loyal aides, a rare public platform to try to explain his work for the president, including an illegal scheme during the 2016 campaign to pay hush money to two women claiming to have had affairs with Trump. And it promises to provide House Democrats investigating Trump, his business and his administration with early fireworks to punctuate their efforts.

Trump called Cohen a “rat” in a tweet in December for cooperating with prosecutors. Cohen had been Trump’s self-described longtime “fixer” and once said he would take a bullet for the New York real estate developer.

“The schedule has now been set. Looking forward to the #American people hearing my story in my voice!” Cohen tweeted late on Wednesday, linking to a fundraising effort for his legal fees.

The committee’s chairman indicated that after consultation with the Justice Department and the House Intelligence Committee, Cohen would not be allowed to discuss matters related to Russia, including a proposed Trump Tower project in Moscow under scrutiny by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III.