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Reports: Senate intelligence committee subpoenas Michael Cohen to testify

By Nicholas Sakelaris
Attorney Michael Cohen was subpoenaed by the Senate intelligence committee Thursday to testify by mid-February. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Attorney Michael Cohen was subpoenaed by the Senate intelligence committee Thursday to testify by mid-February. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The Senate intelligence committee has subpoenaed former Trump attorney Michael Cohen to testify, one day after he delayed his House testimony over fears of threats against his family.

Cohen attorney Lanny Davis said his client received the subpoena Thursday, according to reports by CNN, NBC News and The Washington Post.

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The subpoena requires Cohen to appear before the committee by mid-February. Any questioning by the Senate would likely be done behind closed doors, not publicly, the reports said.

Word of a subpoena came one day after Cohen said he would delay appearing in the House to testify before the oversight committee. Davis said Cohen delayed the appearance due to ongoing threats against his family. That testimony, originally set for Feb. 7, would have been voluntary.

Trump reacted by calling Cohen a "bad lawyer" who "sadly will not be testifying before Congress." He then blasted Cohen for hiring Davis, a former attorney for 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

"Gee, how did that happen?" Trump asked.

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Cohen has been referred to as Trump's "fixer" who made hush money payments and took other actions to make certain problems go away. In December, he pleaded guilty for lying to Congress about whether Trump Tower discussions occurred during Trump's presidential campaign. He was also convicted of tax and campaign finance violations and will start a three-year prison sentence March 6.

Cohen appeared before the Senate intelligence committee in a private hearing last year.

Panel chairman Richard Burr has said he's confident Cohen will testify again before March as part of the committee's bipartisan Russia investigation, which is examining Kremlin interference in the 2016 election.

Oversight panel chairman Elijah E. Cummings said Wednesday his committee could bring in Cohen for more testimony, "even if he's in prison."

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