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As it happenedended1551392972

Cohen testimony: Trump's former lawyer will return to give further evidence - 'I will be back'

What happened the day after Michael Cohen's dramatic open testimony to Congress

Clark Mindock
New York
,Tim Wyatt
Thursday 28 February 2019 20:01 GMT
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Trump calls Michael Cohen a liar following televised testimony

Michael Cohen says he is committed to the truth and will return to Capitol Hill in March with further evidence, after three days in Washington that has captivated the country.

The president's former personal lawyer and long-time fixer delivered hours of remarkable claims and accusations against his old boss on Wednesday, including calling him a "racist", "conman" and "cheat"

He returned Capitol Hill on Thursday for his third day of testimony this week, and delivered closed-door testimony to the House Intelligence Committee run by frequent Trump antagonist, Representative Adam Schiff.

"I am committed to telling the truth and I will be back on March 6th to finish up," Cohen said after that closed door meeting.

The fallout from Cohen's Wednesday testimony was evidence in Washington as he returned for the closed door testimony.

Democratic Representative Eljiah Cummings, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee that hosted Cohen Wednesday, told reporters that anybody who was named multiple times by Cohen could expect to be called in to speak to the panel. During his testimony, the former Trump fixer repeatedly mentioned the president's oldest son Donald Trump Jr, and implicated him in a scheme to pay hush money to Stormy Daniels alongside the chief financial officer of the Trump Organisation.

Meanwhile, Republicans attempted to further cast doubt on Cohen's character, with two Republicans filing a motion with the Department of Justice to consider perjury charges for Cohen over comments he made on Wednesday.

Cohen's lawyer rejected the accusations as baseless.

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Meanwhile, Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar, a Democratic representative, told Rolling Stone magazine she believed Mr Trump's presidency must end in impeachment.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi then attempted to downplay expectations that any effort to impeach the president would make headway in the House.

Mr Trump, for his part, lashed out at his former employee, suggesting 95 per cent of what he said during his evidence was a lie.

Take a look below for our updates from throughout the day

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Lynne Patton, the Housing and Urban Development employee who was brought to Cohen's hearing on Wednesday to serve as proof Donald Trump is not a racist, has pushed back at the notion she was used as a prop in the hearing.

Representative Rashida Tlaib had criticised Representative Mark Meadows for bringing the woman, and later clarified that she did not intend to say that Mr Meadows was racist, but that his actions were.

“I was not there to represent an entire race of people. I was there to represent one man,” Ms Patton told “Fox & Friends” on Thursday. 

Ms Patton also praised Mr Trump's economic achievements, and said that his presidency has had a positive impact on the lives of black americans.

Clark Mindock28 February 2019 16:25
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During his testimony on Wednesday, Cohen called his former boss a "cheat" repeatedly.

Clark Mindock28 February 2019 16:40
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In the middle of Cohen's testimony on Wednesday, the House took a brief recess so that members could go vote.

And, while the nation sat entranced by Cohen's claims about the president, the House approved a universal background check law that would be the most significant gun control law in years.

Even so, it is unlikely that the Republican controlled Senate will also approve the measure. It is even less likely that Donald Trump would sign the bill.

Clark Mindock28 February 2019 17:05
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Cohen said on Wednesday that Donald Trump knew about the Wikileaks dump that exposed thousands of emails that were stolen from the Democratic National Committee.

Mr Trump and his campaign did not attempt to notify the FBI, Cohen said.

Clark Mindock28 February 2019 17:20
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Cohen declined several times on Wednesday to discuss certain issues, saying that he was concerned they would conflict with ongoing criminal investigations in the Southern District of New York. He is cooperating with those investigations, which appear to include a potential criminal investigation of the president and individuals close to him.

Clark Mindock28 February 2019 17:35
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House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings says that his panel is reviewing who they will bring in to testify following Cohen's hearing.

"They have a good chance of hearing from us," Mr Cummings told reporters of any figure who was mentioned multiple times during Cohen's testimony on Wednesday.

Among those who were mentioned multiple times was Donald Trump Jr, and Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organisation's chief financial officer. Cohen said that they were both involved in the hush payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels over an alleged affair with the president (and efforts to hide the payment).

Clark Mindock28 February 2019 17:50
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Republican Representatives Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows have referred Cohen to the Department of Justice for perjury after his shocking testimony on Wednesday.

Cohen was repeatedly attacked during his hearing, with Republicans questioning why they should believe the president's former lawyer after he was already convicted of perjury.

The recommendation reads in part: This testimony "was a spectacular and brazen attempt to knowing and willfully testify falsely and fictitiously to numerous material facts. His testimony included intentionally false statements designed to make himself look better on a national stage. Mr. Cohen's prior conviction for lying to Congress merits a heightened suspicion that he has yet again testified falsely before Congress."

Clark Mindock28 February 2019 18:04
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Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been praised far and wide for her questioning of Cohen on Wednesday. Here's a clip of that interrogation:

Clark Mindock28 February 2019 18:20
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Reverend Al Sharpton has weighed in on the Cohen testimony from Wednesday.

Clark Mindock28 February 2019 18:40
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Here is Cohen on his past lies to Congress, and why they should believe him now:

Clark Mindock28 February 2019 19:00

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