Senate panel subpoenas Donald Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen in Russia-related probe, despite ‘threats to family’
- Senate Intelligence Committee serves Cohen day after he postponed an appearance before the House
- US President Trump has publicly urged the Justice Department to investigate Cohen’s father-in-law, insinuating the relative was part of some criminal activity
A Senate committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has subpoenaed President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, and Cohen intends to comply with the interview demand next month, his lawyer said on Thursday.
The development comes one day after Cohen postponed his public testimony to a House committee.
Lanny Davis, a lawyer for Cohen, disclosed the subpoena from the Senate intelligence committee in a one-sentence statement. He later said the two sides had agreed on a February 12 interview.
Cohen, the president’s one-time fixer, is set to begin a three-year prison sentence in March.
The Senate committee did not immediately confirm the subpoena, but any interview with Cohen would almost certainly take place in private, in keeping with how the panel generally conducts Russia-related hearings.
Cohen earlier this week delayed his February 7 appearance before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on the advice of his legal team, citing ongoing cooperation in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and threats against his family. Trump, along with his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, has publicly urged the Justice Department to investigate Cohen’s father-in-law, insinuating that Cohen’s relative was part of some unspecified criminal activity.