In June 2016, Michael Cohen, who, at the time, was working for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, testified before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that all work on a Trump Tower project in Moscow had wrapped up by January of that year.
In November 2018, Cohen admitted before a New York federal judge that he was lying when he said that — work on that project actually carried on into June 2016, according to documents from special counsel Robert Mueller.
Then, in January 2019, BuzzFeed News reported that Cohen lied to Congress at the behest of his boss, citing two unnamed law enforcement officials who were probing the situation.
WATCH: Michael Cohen says he rigged polls for President Donald Trump
The report had Democrats in the House of Representatives accusing President Trump of obstruction of justice and saying it was time to investigate the matter themselves, should the report prove accurate.
Adam Schiff, another California congressman, echoed Lieu’s remarks, saying that the allegation against Trump is “among the most serious to date.”
Meanwhile, Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said, “if President Trump induced his attorney to lie to Congress to bury his Russian business ties, we will find out.”
BuzzFeed News reported that Cohen had been placed in charge of a project to realize a Trump Tower in Moscow.
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As part of that work, he put together a plan, supported by Trump, that would see the then-candidate visit Russia while running for president so that he could meet with President Vladimir Putin and commence negotiations toward the tower’s realization.
Speaking about the potential visit, BuzzFeed’s sources alleged that Trump told Cohen to “make it happen.”
READ MORE: Here’s what Michael Cohen admitted to lying to Congress about
Cohen has reportedly told Mueller that Trump directed to him lie after the election was over by saying that negotiations toward the tower stopped months before the work actually halted so that Trump’s role in them would remain hidden.
Trump met with Cohen face-to-face about the Russian tower deal at least 10 times as he ran for president.
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Last November, Cohen admitted in court that he made his statements to Congress “to be consistent with Individual 1’s political messaging and to be loyal to Individual 1.”
That individual, unnamed in court documents, is widely believed to be Trump.
Neither the White House, the Special Counsel’s Office, nor Cohen returned BuzzFeed’s requests for comment.
READ MORE: ‘Deliberate and premeditated’ — Michael Cohen’s lies to Congress slammed in Mueller memo
BuzzFeed’s report came on the same day that Cohen admitted to having paid a firm to rig polling data at Trump’s direction.
“I truly regret my blind loyalty to a man who doesn’t deserve it.”
Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Thursday that the president “has no knowledge of the polls being rigged.”
Earlier this month, it emerged that Cohen would testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee in February.
However, on Thursday Cohen’s attorney Lanny Davis said he was reconsidering his testimony and had not made a final decision on whether he would do it.
- With files from Reuters
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