Michael Cohen still intends to testify before Congress despite concerns for his family
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen remains on trackto testify before Congress in February, but he is concerned for his family, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.Cohen agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee on February 7. One of the sources said Cohen is concerned that a public hearing would make things worse for his family and is concerned about their safety. Trump publicly suggested in a Fox News interview over the weekend, without providing evidence, that he is aware of damaging information about Cohen's family.The source said Cohen was glad that the chairman of the committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, put out a strong statement condemning Trump's remarks to Fox."It is unacceptable for anyone -- including the President -- to try to bully or intimidate our witnesses, to try to get them not to testify, to try to scare or threaten their family members, or to try to interfere with Congress' search for the truth," Cummings said earlier this week. "Our Committee has a long and bipartisan history of protecting the ability of witnesses to provide their information to us without even the appearance of intimidation or retaliation."News of Cohen's concerns for his family were first reported by ABC News.Cohen pleaded guilty and was sentenced in December to three years in prison for crimes that included arranging payments during the 2016 election to silence women who claimed they had affairs with Trump. Prosecutors say Cohen did so at the direction of Trump, who has denied he directed Cohen to break the law or that he had affairs with the women.Cohen's cooperation in the Mueller investigation prompted a falling out with Trump. When he appears before the House Oversight Committee, Cohen is not expected to answer questions about any topics related to the Mueller investigation because it is ongoing, but he is prepared to discuss topics related to the hush money payments and aspects of the Trump Organization, including the roles of the President and his children, a source familiar with the matter has told CNN.CNN's Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report.
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