As the deck keeps stacking up against Donald Trump at his New York bank fraud trial, the former president has found a notable outside ally who can circumvent the increasingly stringent court rules and be his attack dog: Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
In her latest move, Stefanik did what Trump has been explicitly told not to do: directly attack a key witness in the case.
On Tuesday, the congresswoman officially called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to pursue criminal perjury charges against one-time Trump lawyer Michael Cohen—drawing from his recent testimony in court, where he revealed new instances of lying under oath.
ADVERTISEMENT
Last month, Trump’s defense lawyers railroaded New York state investigators who tried to use Cohen as a witness against his former boss. Instead of bolstering the financial fraud case, Trump’s attorneys managed to extract what appeared to be damning confessions from the ex-felon that could be used against him.
With the former president angrily looking on from the defense table, attorney Alina Habba pounded Cohen with questions—and managed to get him to admit that he lied to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2019. Although Cohen explained on the witness stand the various ways the real estate tycoon would pressure top Trump Organization executives like Allen Weisselberg to inflate his stated wealth on paper, Habba pointed to previous testimony that said the opposite.
During that 2019 interview, Cohen was asked, “Did Mr. Trump direct you or Mr. Weisselberg to inflate the numbers for his personal statement?” According to the transcript shown in court, Cohen responded, “I'm sorry. Did he ask me to inflate the numbers? Not that I recall.”
“Were you telling the truth then?” Habba asked.
Cohen shook his head and appeared visibly flustered, stammering, “I was in the camp of Donald Trump–”
“Mr. Cohen, were you being honest before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence?” Habba asked.
“No,” Cohen replied.
“So you lied, under oath, in February 2019? Is that your testimony?” Habba asked.
“Yes,” Cohen said.
Stefanik, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, is now citing that interaction in a letter to the Department of Justice. In a letter co-signed by Committee Chairman Michael Turner (R-OH), they ask federal prosecutors to consider hitting Cohen with a new round of criminal charges.
“Mr. Cohen’s testimony at the New York trial is inconsistent with his testimony before the Committee. 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,” they wrote.
“Mr. Cohen’s prior conviction for lying to Congress merits a heightened suspicion that he has yet again testified falsely before Congress. We therefore request that the Department investigate whether any of Mr. Cohen’s testimony warrants another charge for the violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001 or 1621,” they added.
This is the second time Trump’s legal team appears to be weaponizing the MAGA-loyal congresswoman. Last week, she asked New York’s judicial ethics commission to investigate the trial judge’s law clerk—a direct attack on court staff.
Justice Arthur F. Engoron has repeatedly ordered Trump and his lawyers to cease their slash-and-burn approach to the civil case, resorting to gag orders that prevent Trump from trying to intimidate court staff and witnesses. Engoron slapped Trump with a $15,000 fine and threatened him with a short stint in jail.
But Trump has managed to get around that by relying on Stefanik’s outside meddling. The congresswoman, who is not a party in the case, is not bound by the court’s orders. And she’s wielding that power and independence on Trump’s behalf.
On Tuesday, Cohen texted a statement to The Daily Beast.
“Republican Congress members Stefanik and Turner continue to do Donald’s bidding in witness tampering and obstructing justice. 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,” he wrote.
The move also marks an escalation in Stefanik’s role as one of Trump’s most trusted attack dogs on Capitol Hill, a role she has eagerly accepted even before her staunch defense of the former president during his first impeachment over Ukraine military aid in 2019.
The Upstate New York congresswoman has steadily risen in Trumpworld since then. She’s long been on Trump’s shortlist for a VP pick in 2024, as The Daily Beast first reported in January.
In a potential preview of an attack dog role for Trump in the later stages of the campaign—as his running mate or elsewhere—Stefanik has once again gone to bat for the former president. But crucially, this time she’s doing something for him that he legally cannot do for himself.
Stefanik’s letter might be addressed by the judge in court, but it’s unclear what he could do other than ask Trump’s defense lawyers directly whether they have been coordinating with the congresswoman in a blatant attempt to circumvent his orders.
Trump’s bank fraud trial is now six weeks in and halfway over. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump last year in civil court and scored a major victory on the eve of trial, when the judge concluded that the billionaire did indeed vastly inflate his finances to trick banks into giving him better loans over a decade. The trial is set to continue until the end of the year, when Engoron will decide how to dissolve the storied real estate company and whether to punish the family with more than $250 million in fines.
