Cohen testifies trump told him to commit crime by paying off women

Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer and fixer for Donald Trump, testified before the House Oversight Committee on February 27, 2019, that Trump had instructed him to commit a crime by paying off two women who had alleged extramarital affairs with Trump.

Cohen testified that Trump had directed him to make the payments to silence the women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, in the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election. Cohen said that Trump had told him to pay the women $130,000 and $150,000, respectively, to keep them from speaking publicly about their alleged affairs.

Cohen's testimony was significant because it implicated Trump in a potential crime, namely, campaign finance violations. Cohen said that Trump had instructed him to make the payments to influence the election, which is a violation of federal campaign finance laws.

Cohen's testimony was also notable because it contradicted Trump's previous denials of any involvement in the payments. Trump had repeatedly denied knowing about the payments, and had claimed that they were made by Cohen without his knowledge or consent.

Cohen's testimony was part of a larger investigation into Trump's dealings with Russia and his campaign's interactions with foreign governments during the 2016 election. The investigation was led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who had been appointed by the Department of Justice to investigate potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Cohen's testimony was widely covered in the media and sparked a heated debate about the implications of Trump's actions. Many Democrats and some Republicans called for Trump to be impeached and removed from office, while others defended Trump and argued that the payments were a private matter and not a crime.

In the end, the House Oversight Committee voted to hold Cohen in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena to turn over documents related to the payments. The committee also voted to hold Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, in contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena to testify before the committee.

The controversy surrounding the payments and Cohen's testimony continued to unfold in the months and years that followed, with many calling for Trump to be held accountable for his actions.