The Michael Cohen hearing got off to a rocky start, with North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows asking to postpone the meeting because of a late submission of Cohen’s prepared remarks.
Meadows, a top Trump ally, said Cohen was showing “disdain” for the committee process by failing to submit his testimony at least 24 hours ahead of the hearing. The congressman claimed it was an intentional “violation of rules.”
“Now, if this was just an oversight, Mr. Chairman,” Meadows said to House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, “I could look beyond it. But it was an intentional effort by this witness and his advisers to once again show his disdain for this body. And with that, I move that we postpone this hearing.”
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Cohen's much-anticipated testimony was received by the committee the night before Wednesday's session, according to Cummings, a Democrat from Maryland.
"You’ve made it clear that you don’t want the American people to hear what Mr. Cohen has to say," Cummings said to Meadows. "But the American people have a right to hear him, so we’re going to proceed."
Lawmakers quickly voted to reject Meadow’s motion to postpone and the hearing resumed.
Meadows represents North Carolina’s 11th District, which encompasses most of the western part of the state, and is chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
