(CNSNews.com) -- As Michael Cohen testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Wednesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) pressed the former lawyer to President Donald Trump over his filing of five fraudulent tax returns and his failure to pay $1.4 million in taxes.
Jordan also asserted that Cohen’s motive for testifying against the president stemmed from resentment over not receiving a position in the Trump administration.
In his testimony, Cohen – who pleaded guilty last November to lying to Congress about plans for a Trump Tower in Moscow – sought to assure Committee members that he was a credible witness.
“Over the past year or so, I have done some real soul searching,” said Cohen. “I see now that my ambition and the intoxication of Trump power had much to do with the bad decisions I made.”
However, Ranking Committee Member Jordan questioned Cohen’s claim that his previous criminal conduct was done primarily to shield Trump.
“When you filed a false tax return in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, was all that out of blind loyalty to the president?” Jordan asked.
“No, it was not,” Cohen replied.
“When you failed to report $4 million in income to the Internal Revenue Service, did you do that to protect Donald Trump?” asked Jordan.
‘No, I did not,” said Cohen.
Jordan continued, “And when you failed to pay $1.4 million in taxes—I got constituents who don’t make that in a lifetime—to the U.S. treasury, was that out of some blind loyalty to the president of the United States?” said Jordan.
“It was not, but the number was $1.38 million and change, and I have paid that money back to the IRS,” Cohen emphasized.
Later, the House Freedom Caucus Chair, Jordan, contended that Cohen’s testimony was an act of revenge against his former boss for not appointing him to an administration position.
“Here’s what I see,” said Jordan, “I see a guy work for 10 years and you’re trashing the guy you worked for for 10 years. [You] didn’t get a job in the White House, and now you’re behaving just like everyone else who got fired or didn’t get the job they wanted – like Andy McCabe, like James Comey, the same kind of selfish motivation after you don’t get the thing you want. That’s what I see here today and that’s what I think the American people see.”
Cohen denied this charge.
“Mr. Jordan, all I wanted is what I got – to be personal attorney to the president, to enjoy the senior year of my son in high school, and wait for my daughter, who is graduating from college, to come back to New York. I got exactly what I want,” he insisted.