Jackson Lee – “Today’s plea by Mr. Cohen represents yet another milestone in the Special Counsel’s investigation, which the president has dismissed as a witch hunt. For a witch hunt, the Special Counsel’s investigation has found many witches. To date, the Special Counsel’s investigation has returned indictments and secured convictions or guilty pleas from over three dozen individuals, including the President’s first national security advisor, his campaign chairman, his deputy campaign chairman, his personal attorney, a former foreign policy advisor and dozens of associates of the Kremlin.”

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary, Budget and Homeland Security, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, issued this statement following today’s guilty plea by the president’s former lawyer to the Special Counsel:

“This morning, in a federal courthouse in Manhattan, Michael Cohen, the president’s trusted former personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to a criminal charge related to the Special Counsel’s investigation into Russian interference and whether and to what extent this crime was aided and abetted by associates of the Trump Campaign. Specifically, Mr. Cohen was found to have lied to the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence regarding whether associates of the Trump Organization were pursuing business opportunities during the 2016 presidential campaign.

“These developments follow a whirlwind of developments in recent weeks. For example, Special Counsel Mueller rescinded the plea agreement reached with Paul Manafort, the president’s former campaign manager, over allegations that Mr. Manafort lied during his discussions with the Special Counsel. While that was unfolding, the President terminated his Attorney General—whose recusal from the Russia investigation, spurred by a perceived conflict of interest was the impetus for the Special Counsel’s investigation—was terminated and replaced by an ally of the President. Just this week, an individual considered to be privy to information related to WikiLeak’s dissemination of stolen emails designed to harm the campaign of Hillary Clinton reneged on his plea agreement with the Special Counsel’s office. Meanwhile, the public has been watching the president publicly dangle promises of pardons in front of witnesses perceived to be in the crosshairs of the Special Counsel’s investigation, and those uniquely positioned to incriminate the President, his associates, and members of his family for wholesale wrongdoing. And, just this morning, law enforcement raided the German offices of Deutsche Bank, which is infamous for being the only bank willing to lend money to Donald Trump following his many filings for bankruptcy.

“Lying to Congress is a serious crime, and undermines Congress’s constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. Today’s plea by Mr. Cohen represents yet another milestone in the Special Counsel’s investigation, which the president has dismissed as a witch hunt. To be certain, for a witch hunt, the Special Counsel’s investigation has found many witches. To date, the Special Counsel’s investigation has returned indictments and secured convictions or guilty pleas from over three dozen individuals, including the President’s first national security advisor, his campaign chairman, his deputy campaign chairman, his personal attorney, a former foreign policy advisor and dozens of associates of the Kremlin.

“Indeed, the work done by the Special Counsel is critical to Americans’ confidence in our election systems, to ensure that the interference by a hostile, foreign adversary does not ever again occur, and bring those nefariously involved in the 2016 election to justice. I have long been concerned with ensuring the Special Counsel is permitted to continue his investigation. This is why over a year ago, I introduced H.R. 3654, the Special Counsel Independence Protection Act, which garnered the support of over 150 members of Congress. I am also proud that substantial portions of H.R. 3654 were incorporated into H.R. 5476, the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, which I introduced with Congressman Jerry Nadler, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, and Congressman Steve Cohen, the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution. If enacted into law, H.R. 5476 would permit an affected Special Counsel to require judicial ratification of any termination, during the pendency of which the investigation would be stayed, and immune from any interference from the President, or others.”