Michael Cohen, a close associate of President Donald Trump and former lawyer for his business, has agreed to speak to the Senate Intelligence Committee for a public hearing next month, after investigators abruptly canceled a private Tuesday session with him.
The Oct. 25 hearing is part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, and came together just hours after committee investigators dismissed Cohen from the private interview. Cohen had arrived with his attorney, Steve Ryan, but left after about an hour, informing reporters waiting outside that committee staff told him they did not wish to proceed.
“We will come back for a voluntary interview whenever we can to meet with them, and we look forward to voluntarily cooperating with the House committee and with anyone else who has an inquiry in this area,” Ryan said.
In a joint statement, committee Chairman Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and ranking Democrat Sen. Mark Warner, Va., said the session was canceled because Cohen made public statements before his interview “in spite of the Committee’s requests that he refrain from public comment.”
(c) 2017, The Washington Post · Rosalind S. Helderman, Karoun Demirjian
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