The House Oversight Committee said the scope of Michael Cohen’s public testimony would be limited to President Donald Trump’s “payoffs, financial disclosures, compliance with campaign finance laws, business practices, and other matters.” | Drew Angerer/Getty Images Legal Michael Cohen to testify Feb. 27 before House Oversight Committee

President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen will appear before the House Oversight Committee for a public hearing on Feb. 27, Chairman Elijah Cummings announced Wednesday.

The notice came hours after a judge granted Cohen a two-month reprieve on reporting to prison while he continues to recover from shoulder surgery and prepares to testify before a total of three congressional panels.


Cummings (D-Md.) said his committee was able to reschedule Cohen’s testimony “despite efforts by some to intimidate his family members and prevent him from appearing.” Cohen initially backed out of appearing before the panel earlier this month, citing Trump’s attacks on his family, particularly his father-in-law.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) addressed those concerns Wednesday evening, writing on Twitter: “Congress has an independent duty under the Constitution to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch, and any efforts to intimidate family members or pressure witnesses will not be tolerated.”

The Oversight Committee said the scope of Cohen’s public testimony would be limited to Trump’s “payoffs, financial disclosures, compliance with campaign finance laws, business practices, and other matters.”

The longtime Trump attorney is slated to testify before the House Intelligence Committee the next day behind closed doors. A similar appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee was postponed earlier this month, with Cohen’s lawyers citing his ongoing recovery. Cohen was under subpoena to testify before that panel.

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Cummings said the committee was coordinating its efforts with the Intelligence panel and its chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

In a corresponding memo, the Oversight Committee’s Democratic staff said lawmakers would not ask Cohen about issues related to Schiff’s investigation, which is focused on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and the possibility that foreign actors have gained leverage “over Donald Trump, his family, his business interests, or his associates.”

According to the memo, the committee will focus on Trump’s payoffs to women alleging that they had affairs with him, the president’s compliance with laws governing taxes and campaign finance, allegations of improper conduct by the Trump Foundation, and “the accuracy of the president’s public statements,” among other related topics.

Republicans, led by the Oversight Committee’s top Republican, Jim Jordan of Ohio, have argued the hearing will amount to a “media circus” intended to embarrass Trump and that it will not enlighten the committee’s ongoing investigations.

U.S. District Court Judge William Pauley agreed Wednesday to a request from Cohen’s attorney to allow his client to report to prison as late as May 6, rather than on March 6 as Pauley had ordered.

Last December, the Manhattan-based Pauley sentenced Cohen to three years in prison after his guilty plea to a variety of fraud charges as well as charges that he conspired to arrange illegal donations to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign in the form of unreported payments to women claiming to have had sexual affairs with the candidate.

Pauley provided no detailed explanation for his order delaying Cohen’s reporting date, but the letter from Cohen’s attorney Michael Monico cited health issues and congressional testimony as grounds for the postponement.

“Defendant makes the request because he recently underwent a serious surgical procedure and he needs to undergo intensive post-surgical physical therapy and be monitored by his physician for recovery,” Monico wrote.

Cohen’s lawyers disclosed in the letter made public Wednesday that they submitted a more detailed explanation about the need for the delay to the judge last week. That submission has not been made public.

Prosecutors did not object to the 60-day extension, Monico wrote.

Monico’s letter also appeared to confirm that after cancellations of highly anticipated congressional testimony in recent weeks, Cohen plans to go forward with those appearances before the end of February. The defense attorney didn’t say that testimony would preclude Cohen reporting to prison next month, but argued that it would disrupt his ability to prepare to go to jail.

“Mr. Cohen also anticipates being called to testify before three (3) Congressional committees at the end of the month,” the defense lawyer said. “Doing so will require Mr. Cohen to spend substantial time in preparation that will limit the time he has to get his affairs in order and spend time with his family, especially given such a short period between the anticipated hearings and the present reporting date.”