Congressman Tweets At Michael Cohen, Threatens To Expose ‘Girlfriends’
On the eve of the public Congressional testimony by former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen, a Trump-allied member of Congress has sent a tweet in which he appears to threaten Cohen with exposing alleged extramaterial affairs.
Cohen is scheduled to testify Wednesday, in public and on national television, before the House Oversight Committee, following closed-door testimony Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
On the eve of that testimony, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida sent an unusual tweet that tagged Cohen.
“Hey @MichaelCohen212 – Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends?,” Gaetz tweeted. “Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she’ll remain faithful when you’re in prison. She’s about to learn a lot…”
There do not appear to have been any public reports, to date, about Cohen being accused of having extramarital affairs. However, the reference to Cohen’s father-in-law is a repeat of the episode in January when President Trump, per The Hill, tweeted about possibly criminal liability for the father of Cohen’s wife.
Gaetz is not a member of the House Oversight Committee, so he will not have an opportunity to question Cohen directly on Wednesday. However, he is on the House Intelligence Committee, where Cohen is scheduled to testify, albeit behind closed doors, on Thursday.
Reporter Alex Ward of Vox texted Gaetz to ask if he was tampering with Cohen, to which Gaetz replied, “I’m witness testing. We still are allowed to test the veracity and character of witnesses, I think.”
Cohen, in his public testimony Wednesday, is expected to tell Congress that President Trump has broken the law, including while serving as president, per The Inquisitr. Cohen will likely discuss the hush money scheme that involved payments to women such as Stormy Daniels, as well as other alleged crimes of which Cohen had knowledge at the time.
Rep. Matt Gaetz tweeted a veiled threat to Michael Cohen on the eve of his public testimony: "Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat … She’s about to learn a lot…"https://t.co/Uc4Tv6xwie
— Axios (@axios) February 26, 2019
The attorney, who worked for Trump for many years prior to his campaign for president, is likely to be pressed by Republicans on the committee about previous testimony to Congress, during which he now admits that he lied. But there’s a chance that Cohen will testify that Trump, as president, directed him to lie under oath.
The Gaetz tweet indicates that Republicans on the committee may try to hit Cohen with previously unknown personal dirt, in order to discredit his testimony about bad acts by the president.
Cohen, who had previously been set to testify earlier this month before he delayed the testimony due to “threats against my family,” is currently scheduled to report in May for what’s expected to be a three-year prison term, per USA Today. Cohen has pleaded guilty to a variety of charges, including counts of perjury and campaign-finance violations.
