U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) filed a motion in the House Tuesday to force a vote on referring Michael Cohen to the Justice Department for a perjury investigation, with a showdown coming as early as today.
Cohen is President Donald Trump’s former lawyer.
House Resolution 304 is meant to hold Michael Cohen accountable for his alleged lies to the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Green said in a press release.
“The integrity of the Oversight Committee and entire House is at stake. We must defend our honor, refer Michael Cohen’s testimony to the Justice Department for a perjury investigation and show the American people that the People’s House will not tolerate a man lying under oath,” said Rep. Green.
“Sixty-two days ago, Chairman Cummings welcomed convicted liar Michael Cohen to testify before the House Oversight Committee. Republicans warned the Democrats against giving Cohen a platform and in return Chairman Cummings promised that if Cohen lied again, the Chairman would hold him accountable. During Cohen’s testimony he lied at least seven times and yet the Chairman has yet to uphold his pledge of maintaining the integrity of our Committee in the face of these false statements that were given under oath. Today’s resolution would simply require that Chairman Cummings provide the official transcript of Cohen’s testimony to the Department of Justice so that they may evaluate the statements in consideration of charging Cohen with further crimes related to his false statements. I hope that all Members will uphold the institutional integrity of the proceedings of the House,” said House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan.
The resolution requires Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings to transmit an official transcript of Cohen’s testimony to the Justice Department for potential prosecution, the press release said. The resolution raises a question of the integrity of the House, so the resolution is privileged and House Democrats must schedule a vote within 48 hours of the filing.
(ATTACH PDF TITLED ‘MARK GREEN HR304’ HERE)
Later Tuesday, Green tweeted, “Democrat Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced a vote on my resolution to refer Michael Cohen’s testimony to the @TheJusticeDept for possible prosecution tomorrow. Will Democrats join us in defending the integrity of the House? #CohenLied”.
Democrat Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced a vote on my resolution to refer Michael Cohen's testimony to the @TheJusticeDept for possible prosecution tomorrow. Will Democrats join us in defending the integrity of the House? #CohenLied https://t.co/yhFLXnFhA9
— Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) April 30, 2019
Hoyer’s announcement may be read here.
Melanie Zanona of Politico wrote about the matter, “While the effort is sure to fail, every single lawmaker will now be forced to go on the record when it comes to Cohen, who is heading to federal prison this month.”
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “Mark Green” by GOP Oversight and Reform.
