Burr and Warner say they have "reengaged" Michael Cohen
In a joint appearance, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr and Vice Chair Sen. Mark Warner told reporters Tuesday that they have "recently reengaged" former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen in their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Burr said that their committee reached out to Cohen after he claimed that President Trump knew beforehand about the meeting in Trump Tower in June 2016 in which Donald Trump Jr., former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and Mr. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with a Russian attorney whom Trump Jr. believed had damaging information about Hillary Clinton's campaign. Cohen said in late July that he was willing to tell Special Counsel Robert Mueller about the knowledge of this meeting.
In a joint statement, Burr and Warner suggested that Cohen's recent claims may have contradicted information that he had provided when he testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee in September.
"Mr. Cohen had testified before the Committee that he was not aware of the meeting prior to its disclosure in the press last summer. As such, the Committee inquired of Mr. Cohen's legal team as to whether Mr. Cohen stood by his testimony. They responded that he did stand by his testimony," Burr said.
Cohen is entering into a plea deal with federal prosecutors, CBS News' Paula Reid and Pat Milton reported Tuesday. He turned himself in to the FBI and is now in the custody of federal authorities.
"We hope that today's developments and Mr. Cohen's plea agreement will not preclude his appearance before our Committee as needed for our ongoing investigation," said Burr and Warner.