NOTICE OF INTENTION TO OFFER RESOLUTION RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 70
(House of Representatives - April 30, 2019)
Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Pages H3318-H3319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO OFFER RESOLUTION RAISING A QUESTION OF THE
PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE
Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of
rule IX, I rise to give notice of my intention to raise a question of
the privileges of the House.
The form of the resolution is as follows:
House Resolution 304. Raising a question of the privileges of the
House.
Whereas Michael Cohen testified under oath as a witness before the
House Committee on Oversight and Reform on February 27, 2019;
Whereas Michael Cohen falsely testified under oath, ``I have never
asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from President Trump'';
Whereas in truth and fact, attorney for Michael Cohen, Lanny Davis,
admitted on March 6, 2019, that Cohen ``directed his attorney to
explore possibilities of a pardon at one point with Donald J. Trump
lawyer Rudy Giuliani as well as other lawyers advising President
Trump'';
[[Page H3319]]
Whereas in truth and fact, attorney for Michael Cohen, Michael
Monico, admitted in a March 12, 2019, letter that Cohen's testimony was
inaccurate;
Whereas in truth and fact, the ex post representation by Cohen's
attorney does not annul Cohen's intentionally false and misleading
testimony;
Whereas in truth and fact, Cohen's testimony under oath was delivered
in the context of apologizing for all his criminal activities;
Whereas in truth and fact, Cohen's denial of ever seeking a pardon
contained no qualifiers about the context of his statement;
Whereas in truth and fact, Cohen's denial of ever seeking a pardon,
as uttered under oath in his testimony, was absolute and unequivocal;
Whereas in truth and fact, Cohen testified under oath that he and his
lawyers spent hours editing his written statement submitted to the
Committee on Oversight and Reform preceding his testimony, which
included the written assertion, ``I have never asked for, nor would I
accept, a pardon from President Trump'';
Whereas in truth and fact, Cohen's denial in his written statement of
never asking for a Presidential pardon was an unqualified assertion;
Whereas Michael Cohen falsely testified under oath that he ``did not
want to go to the White House'' and he ``did not want a role or title
in the administration'';
Whereas in truth and fact the United States Attorney's Office for the
Southern District of New York submitted to Federal court a sentencing
memorandum expressing Michael Cohen's desire to work in the White
House, explaining: ``during and after the campaign, Cohen privately
told friends and colleagues, including in seized text messages, that he
expected to be given a prominent role and title in the new
administration. When that did not materialize, Cohen found a way to
monetize his relationship with and access to the President'';
Whereas Michael Cohen falsely testified under oath on other factual
matters of material significance;
Whereas Michael Cohen's intentionally false testimony was aimed at
obscuring the truth and ameliorating the extent of his own personal
embarrassment;
Whereas intentionally false testimony to a committee of the House of
Representatives harms the integrity of the proceedings of the House;
Whereas it is a Federal crime to provide false information to
Congress and the failure to enforce this crime further undermines the
integrity of the House; and
Whereas it is the judgment of the House of Representatives that
providing a copy of the official transcript of the hearing of the
Committee on Oversight and Reform on February 27, 2019, to the
Department of Justice would aid the Attorney General's consideration of
investigation and potential prosecution of Michael Cohen's criminal
conduct: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, that the House of Representatives directs the chair of the
Oversight and Reform Committee to submit to the Attorney General an
official copy of the transcript of the hearing during which Michael
Cohen testified under oath on February 27, 2019.
{time} 1315
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under rule IX, a resolution offered from the
floor by a Member other than the majority leader or the minority leader
as a question of the privileges of the House has immediate precedence
only at a time designated by the Chair within 2 legislative days after
the resolution is properly noticed.
Pending that designation, the form of the resolution noticed by the
gentleman from Tennessee will appear in the Record at this point.
The Chair will not, at this point, determine whether the resolution
constitutes a question of privilege. That determination will be made at
the time designated for consideration of the resolution.
____________________