© 2026 ABC News

Sources have told ABC News that around the time of the presidential transition, Cohen was angling for a job in the new administration either as White House chief of staff or White House Counsel. After he was turned down, Cohen blamed Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump for blocking him.

A former NYPD detective and Cohen friend, Bo Dietl, weighed in on Twitter, saying, \"I know Michael Cohen personally for many years and he told me several times that he was very angry and upset that he didn't get a post in the WH.\"

For his part, House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., is standing by Cohen, whom he called \"truthful\" and \"remorseful\" after the hearing, telling ABC's Benjamin Siegel when asked if Cohen lied about wanting to be Trump's White House chief of staff, \"I don’t have any knowledge of that, none. He said he wasn’t, and I believe him. Think about it, he could make a hell of a lot more money, a hell of a lot more money, outside the White House than inside the White House. I don’t know why you would want to do that.”

Under questioning from Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, Cohen told the committee, \"I never defrauded any bank.\"

Cohen pleaded guilty in August to six felonies associated with his personal business dealings - including tax evasion and making false statements to a bank – and two felony campaign finance violations in connection with his role in arranging non-disclosure agreements during the campaign with two women who had claimed past affairs with Trump.

Republicans attacked Cohen repeatedly on Wednesday as the former Trump confidant laid out a blistering, laundry list of charges, saying, \"He is a racist, he is a conman, and he is a cheat.\"

At one point, Cohen, who begins his three-year prison sentence in May, warned Republicans, “It’s that sort of behavior that I’m responsible for. I’m responsible for your silliness because I did the same thing that you’re doing now for 10 years. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years.”

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/house-republicans-michael-cohen-investigated-perjury/story?id=61383776","legacySlug":"/news/story/house-republicans-michael-cohen-investigated-perjury-61383776","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"20:55","publishDate":"02-28-2019","updatedTime":"03:44","updatedDate":"03-01-2019","socialImage":{"alt":"Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 27, 2019.","credit":"Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/cohen-testify-points-2-ap-ps-190227_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"2/28/2019 20:55:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":61383776,"headline":"Republicans want Cohen investigated for perjury","mediaAssetTitle":"COHEN/DEMS/GOPS/WHAT NEXT?","description":"Cohen's attorney said Donald Trump's former attorney testified \"truthfully.\"","duration":"1:28","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/02/190228_nwo_gop_asks_justice_investigate_cohen_MIX_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["133741861","133707237","133144263"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"June 10, 2026","headline":"NASA unveils Artemis III crew","section":"News","slug":"/video/133741861","id":"133741861","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: NASA unveils Artemis III crew","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: NASA unveils Artemis III crew","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"June 9, 2026","headline":"Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","section":"News","slug":"/video/133707237","id":"133707237","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"May 20, 2026","headline":"Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","section":"News","slug":"/video/133144263","id":"133144263","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Republicans want Cohen investigated for perjury","description":"Cohen's attorney said Donald Trump's former attorney testified \"truthfully.\"","duration":"1:28","uploadDate":"02-28-2019","publication":"02-28-2019","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/02/190228_nwo_gop_asks_justice_investigate_cohen_MIX_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/02/190228_nwo_gop_asks_justice_investigate_cohen_MIX_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/house-republicans-michael-cohen-investigated-perjury-61383776"}},"playlist":[{"id":"134353508","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134335187","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134334942","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134302445","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134246001","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134202757","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134211156","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134179882","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134130187","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134161969","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134164484","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134145709","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134134667","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134099631","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134041491","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134033809","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"78356537","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133929295","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133958398","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133882828","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Republicans want Cohen investigated for perjury","pubTime":"15:55","pubDate":"02-28-2019","modTime":"22:44","modDate":"02-28-2019","taxonomyTags":"none","id":61383776,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Republicans want Cohen investigated for perjury","mediaAssetTitle":"COHEN/DEMS/GOPS/WHAT NEXT?","videoId":61383776,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/house-republicans-michael-cohen-investigated-perjury-61383776"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/61383776","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/61383776","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};