Michael Cohen to testify before Congress

Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, has announced that he will appear before a House of Representatives committee to provide a “full and credible account” of his work for the US president.

Cohen will be voluntarily appearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on 7 February, just weeks before he is due to begin a 36-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to a string of offences, including money laundering and campaign finance violations.

“I look forward to having the privilege of being afforded a platform with which to give a full and credible account of the events which have transpired,” Cohen said.

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The hearing sets the stage for a “blockbuster public hearing that threatens to further damage the president’s image and could clarify the depth of his legal woes,” The New York Times says.

Cohen’s campaign finance charges stemmed from hush money paid to two women in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, requiring the women to keep quiet about alleged affairs with Trump.

At his hearing in August last year, Cohen testified in open court that Trump had “directed him to have the payments made”, with Cohen making one payment and the other going through the “Trump-friendly publisher of The National Enquirer”, CNBC says.

Trump has denied any sexual conduct with either of the women, and recently turned on his former lawyer, accusing him of “lying to get a reduced sentence”, adding: “He’s a weak person and not a very smart person.”