After initial skirmishing over the rules, the House Oversight Committee hearing with Michael Cohen has begun. After being sworn in, Cohen declared in his opening statement that his former boss, the president, “is a racist. He is a conman. And he is a cheat.” He also has brought documentation, including a copy of a personal check that Trump wrote him — while he was president — to reimburse him for the hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress, “to prevent damage to his campaign.” The documents also included financial statements that Trump provided to Deutsche Bank from 2011 to 2013 and copies of letters to Trump’s high school, colleges and the College Board threatening legal action if they released his transcripts or standardized test scores.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 27, 2019 13:41 UTC