The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings
Chairman
Committee on Oversight and Reform
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This letter follows up on your commitment to ensure Michael Cohen testified truthfully at
the Committee’s hearing titled, “Hearing with Michael Cohen, Former Attorney for President
Donald Trump,” on February 27, 2019.[1] As Chairman, it is your obligation to ensure that
witnesses are not permitted to lie with impunity when testifying before the Committee.
During the hearing, following Cohen’s oath to testify truthfully, you explained to the
Committee that you privately admonished Cohen about truthfulness. You warned him “if he
[Cohen] came in here and lied I would nail him to the cross.”[2] You then confirmed this
statement with Cohen himself, asking “Didn’t I tell you that?”[3] Cohen replied, “Yes, you did
more than once.”[4] Mr. Chairman, there is now clear and indisputable evidence that Cohen did
not testify truthfully before the Committee. We expect you will now follow through with your
commitment to hold Cohen accountable.
Following the hearing, we wrote to Attorney General William Barr referring Cohen for a
perjury investigation regarding six areas of problematic testimony, including Cohen’s testimony
that he did not want a role in the Trump Administration.[5] In light of mounting evidence, it
appears Cohen likely lied under oath during his appearance before the Committee. Even the
Committee’s Vice Chair, Rep. Katie Hill, said on Sunday that she expects that you will refer
Cohen to the Justice Department for perjury.[6] We write to ask that you join our referral and to
request all relevant documents and communications from Cohen and the Department of Justice
(DOJ).
Cohen lied about his desire to work in the Trump Administration
Prior to the hearing, we asked that you request information from DOJ necessary to
question Cohen. You declined to do so, leaving Members to rely on publicly available
information. We reviewed court filings by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern
District of New York (SDNY), which discussed Cohen’s desire and expectation of receiving a
role in the Trump Administration. The SDNY prosecutors explained:
During and after the campaign, Cohen privately told friends and
colleagues, including in seized text messages, that he expected to
be given a prominent role and title in the new administration.
When that did not materialize, Cohen found a way to monetize his
relationship with and access to the President.[7]

 During the hearing, Republican Members pressed Cohen on the SDNY prosecutors’ 
statements.  On the record, following his oath, Cohen repeatedly testified he did not seek 
employment in the White House following President Trump’s election. Cohen also testified the 
statement submitted by the SDNY prosecutors to the court was “not accurate.”[8] Several 
Members followed up with Cohen on this account:
                       
MR. CLOUD:              In today’s testimony,
you [Cohen] said that you were not looking
to work in the White House. The Southern
District   of   New   York,   in   their   statement,
their   sentencing   memo,   says   this:   “.   .   .
Cohen privately told friends, colleagues, and
including   seized   text   messages,   that   he
expected to be given a prominent role in the
new administration.” . . . So were they lying,
or were you lying today?
 
MR. COHEN:              I’m not saying it’s a
lie. I’m just saying it’s not accurate. I did
not want to go to the White House.[9]
 
            Following the exchange between Mr. Cloud and Cohen, Mr. Jordan provided Cohen an 
opportunity to clarify his remarks. He did not.
 

MR.   JORDAN:          Earlier   you   said   that
the United States Southern District of New
York Attorney’s Office, that statement is not
accurate.   You said it’s not a lie.   You said
it’s not accurate.  Do you stand by that? 
 
MR. COHEN:             Yes, I did not want a
role in the new [Trump] Administration.
 

 MR. JORDAN:          So the court’s wrong?
 
MR. COHEN:             Sir, can I finish, please?
 
MR. JORDAN:          Sure.
 
MR. COHEN:              I got exactly the role
that I wanted. There is no shame in being
personal   attorney   to   the   President.   I   got
exactly what I wanted.   I asked Mr. Trump
for that job, and he gave it to me.
 
MR.   JORDAN:          All   I’m   asking,   if   I
could ­­ and I appreciate it, Mr. Chairman –
you’re   saying   that   statement   from   the
Southern District of New York attorneys is
wrong.
 
MR.   COHEN:              I’m   saying   I   didn’t
write it, and it’s not accurate.
 
MR. JORDAN:          All right. Thank you.[10]
 
***
 
MR.   ROY:                   You   said   clearly   to
Mr. Cloud and Mr. Jordan that the Southern
District   of   New   York   lawyers   were   being
untruthful   in   characterizing   your   desire   to

 work   in   the   administration.   Do   you   say
again   that   the   lawyers   of   the   Southern
District of New York are being untruthful in
making that characterization, yes or no?
                        MR. COHEN:             I’m saying that’s not accurate.[11]
 
 
MR. ROY:                  Okay. So you’re saying they’re being
untruthful.
MR.   COHEN:             I’m   not   using   the
word   untruthful,   that’s   yours.   I’m   saying
that that’s not accurate.  I did not want a role
or a title in the administration.[12]
As indicated by the SDNY prosecutors, text messages exist that prove Cohen sought out a
job with the White House, directly contradicting Cohen’s statements under oath before our
Committee. To maintain the integrity of our investigations and hearings, we must obtain these
messages and any other potential evidence to get the truth.
The SDNY prosecutors are not the only individuals who believe that Cohen sought out a
job at the White House. Several people have spoken out publicly to refute Cohen’s statements
before this Committee.[13] For example, Bo Dietl, a former New York City Police detective,
tweeted during the Committee’s hearing:
Getting sick watching these hearings. I know Michael Cohen
personally for many years and he told me several times that he was
very angry and upset that he didn’t get a post in the WH and that
he ‘would do what he has to do now to protect his family.’[14]
Dr. Darrell Scott, Pastor at the New Spirit Revival Center and a Trump campaign faithbased outreach coordinator, also tweeted during the hearing: “Michael Cohen asked . . . no,
BEGGED me REPEATEDLY, to ask the POTUS to give him a job in the Administration! He’s
STILL lying under oath!”[15]Bruce LeVell, another person involved in the Trump campaign,
replied to Dr. Scott’s tweet, “I co-sign that Pastor. I remember that conversation[.]”[16]
David Bossie, Trump’s deputy campaign manager in 2016, tweeted, “Michael Cohen
asked me to support his effort to be Chief of Staff when I helped run the Presidential Transition
Team. He perjured himself today.”[17]

 During the hearing, CNN journalist Dana Bash rebutted Cohen’s testimony on live
television. She stated, “the one potential problem that I thought Michael Cohen has is when he
was asked if he wanted a job in the White House, and he said no. Our reporting [shows] . . . he
very much wanted a job in the White House.”[18] Another CNN journalist, Nathan McDermott,
tweeted, “Good point by @DanaBashCNN that when Cohen was asked in the hearings whether
he wanted a job in the White House and he said ‘no’ he contradicted mountains of reporting that
show he did, in fact, want one.”[19]
Cohen lied about not seeking a pardon
Cohen made an additional false statement to this Committee when he testified under oath:
“I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from President Trump.”[20] Last week,
however, Lanny Davis, Cohen’s media advisor and lawyer, contradicted Cohen’s testimony.
Davis stated that Cohen had “directed his attorney to explore possibilities of a pardon at one
point with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani as well as other lawyers advising President Trump.”[21]
On March 12, nearly two weeks after Cohen’s testimony, his lawyer, Michael Monico,
sent you a letter conceding that Cohen’s statement about a pardon was not accurate and “could
have been clearer” but stating that Cohen stood by his testimony.[22] Monico asserted that
Cohen wrote his statement about the pardon “in the context of [his] decision in June 2018 to
leave Trump Joint Defense Agreement . . . .”[23]
This ex post assertion by Cohen’s lawyers does not undo Cohen’s intentionally false and
misleading statement and is manifestly unpersuasive. Regardless of the context in which Cohen
wrote this statement, Cohen uttered the statement under oath in the context of apologizing for all
his criminal activities. Cohen’s denial of ever seeking a pardon, which he made during his
carefully crafted opening statement, contained no qualifiers about the context of his statement. It
did not restrict his denial to the period after Cohen left the joint defense agreement. In fact, there
is no mention whatsoever in Cohen’s prepared testimony about the joint defense agreement.
Simply put, Cohen’s denial of ever seeking a pardon, as uttered under oath in his testimony, was
absolute and unequivocal.
Although Cohen’s attorneys now claim that Cohen did not mislead the Committee, it is
clear—and Cohen’s lawyers concede—that Cohen asked his legal representatives to seek a
pardon on his behalf. Therefore, in light of this undisputed evidence, Cohen’s testimony under
oath that he “never asked for . . . a pardon” cannot be true. Cohen’s intentionally false statement
under oath is material to the Committee’s assessment of his credibility.

***

This Committee cannot stand idly by when a witness comes to a hearing, swears an oath
to testify truthfully, and provides material testimony that appears on its face to be demonstrably

 false. Accordingly, we urge you to request from both Michael Cohen and the Department all
documents and communications relating to Cohen’s effort, desire, or attempts to obtain a position
in the Trump Administration and Cohen’s efforts to seek a pardon for his crimes. We also
encourage you to uphold the prerogatives of the Committee by joining our referral to the
Department.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. We look forward to hearing back from
you soon on this important matter.
Sincerely,

Jim Jordan
Ranking Member

Mark Meadows
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Government Operations