Michael Cohen Grilled By House Oversight Committee On Hush Money, Business Dealings

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- For most of the day, members of Congress grilled Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer.

Cohen testified that the President told him to lie about hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. He also claimed that President Trump has lied about many things, including his ties to Russia.

Esme Murphy has more on that, plus the reaction he's getting from Minnesota lawmakers.

Testifying before the House Oversight Committee, the President's former attorney painted a dark portrait of his old boss.

"He is a racist, he is a conman, he is a cheat," Cohen said.

Cohen will soon go to prison for three years after pleading guilty to lying to Congress and his part in the Stormy Daniels hush money payoff scheme.

Cohen testified that the president himself has lied about everything from those payments to his business dealings in Russia, both before and after he took office. Republicans on the Committee fired back at Cohen.

"This might be the first time someone convicted of lying to Congress has appeared so quickly in front of Congress," Republican Rep. Jim Jordan said.

Minnesota Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips was at the hearing. He says he's disappointed to see Republicans "devote their lines of questioning to attacks on Mr. Cohen's character, rather than ascertaining facts or discerning the substance of what he had to say."

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar seized on checks signed by the president, and his son Donald Jr., to Cohen. The checks were written while the president was in office, and Cohen says they were reimbursement for the Stormy Daniels payoffs.

Klobuchar tweeted, "This is a big deal: Michael Cohen says President Trump was involved in a hush money scheme. He brought checks to Congress to prove it..."

Rep. Ilhan Omar also responded in a tweet. It said, "I believe that impeachment is inevitable. It also is a terrifying notion. Nations struggle any time they overthrow a dictator, and Trump really has the markings of a dictator."

Sen. Tina Smith sent WCCO-TV her response. It read, "Mr. Cohen's allegations are very serious, and this underscores why we need to protect the independent Mueller investigation and make sure it continues without political interference. These allegations of potential campaign crimes, and ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, need to be fully investigated so we get to the root of how Russia has interfered in our elections."

Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum released this statement to WCCO-TV. It read, "Michael Cohen's testimony in front of Congress has exposed the extent to which the GOP and President Trump are joined at the hip. That House Republicans are willing to defend this president at all costs is truly astounding. Congress is a separate, coequal branch of government, and desperate attempts to shield another branch from accountability are unconscionable. Congress was right to have conducted oversight in this manner today."

We reached out to other members of the Minnesota delegation, including Republicans, and did not hear back.

Cohen's Thursday testimony before the House Intelligence Committee will be behind closed doors.

President Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

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• Michael Cohen
• Donald Trump