Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has emerged as Donald Trump's new attack dog as he fights against legal problems on multiple fronts.
The New York Republican wrote a letter to the Department of Justice asking for new federal charges against former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who admitted last month in the $250 million fraud trial in New York that he had lied during congressional testimony in 2019, and that's the second time Stefanik has gone on the attack in that case, reported The Daily Beast.
“Mr. Cohen’s testimony at the New York trial is inconsistent with his testimony before the [Senate Intelligence] Committee," Stefanik wrote to the DOJ. "That Mr. Cohen was willing to openly and brazenly state at trial that he lied to Congress on this specific issue is startling. His willingness to make such a statement alone should necessitate an investigation."
Stefanik, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, was joined by committee chairman Michael Turner (R-OH) in signing the letter seeking charges against Cohen, and she also asked New York’s judicial ethics commission to investigate Judge Arthur Engoron's law clerk – who Trump has been forbidden to attack again as part of a gag order.
The congresswoman, however, is not a party to the case and is not bound by the court's orders, and Cohen said it was obvious what she's trying to do.
“Republican Congress members Stefanik and Turner continue to do Donald’s bidding in witness tampering and obstructing justice," Cohen told The Beast. "The two members fail to understand the distinction between explicit and implied; which is how the question was asked and accurately responded to. The topic was further clarified several questions thereafter; which is conveniently and intentionally being ignored. I am not concerned at all with their baseless request."
