Witness tampering works

Michael Cohen is postponing his scheduled February 7 testimony before the House Oversight Committee, citing “threats against his family” from President Trump and his allies, Cohen’s lawyer announced Wednesday.

“Due to ongoing threats against his family from President Trump and Mr. Giuliani, as recently as this weekend, as well as Mr. Cohen’s continued cooperation with ongoing investigations, by advice of counsel, Mr. Cohen’s appearance will be postponed to a later date,” Cohen representative Lanny Davis said in a statement. “Mr. Cohen wishes to thank Chairman Cummings for allowing him to appear before the House Oversight Committee and looks forward to testifying at the appropriate time.”

TAPPER: OK. But let me ask you a question.

You're talking about these threats that the president did not commit, and as to why that would be inappropriate, but the president has not done that.

The president is repeatedly calling publicly, on Judge Jeanine's show, on Twitter, he is repeatedly calling for an investigation into Michael Cohen's father-in-law ahead of Michael Cohen's testimony before Congress.

By your own definition, isn't that obstruction...

GIULIANI: No, it's defending himself.

TAPPER: ... or attempting to intimidate a witness?

GIULIANI: No. No.

Now, if you -- if you made that obstruction, I can't defend anybody.

TAPPER: To say...

(CROSSTALK)

GIULIANI: You're telling me...

TAPPER: ... this guy is testifying against me, his father-in-law should be...

(CROSSTALK) GIULIANI: No, wait, now. Wait, wait. Jake, Jake, we are so -- we are so distorting the system of justice just to get Donald Trump, it's going to hurt us so much.

TAPPER: So, it's OK to go after the father-in-law?

GIULIANI: Now -- now, of course it is, if the father-in-law is a criminal.

And the Southern District of New York, in the plea, wanted him to go to jail and said he's lying. They don't buy the special counsel's approach. They say he's lying because he's holding back information that is far more damaging than the lies that he is sharing with them now.

Now, what is that information about?

TAPPER: Yes.

GIULIANI: It's about his father-in-law. We talked about Ukrainians. His father-in-law is a Ukrainian.

TAPPER: That's not a crime.

GIULIANI: His father-in-law has millions and millions -- of course it's not. I'm telling you, he comes from the Ukraine.

This reason that is important is, he may have ties to something called organized crime.

TAPPER: Because he's Ukrainian?

GIULIANI: Michael Cohen is refusing -- well, there's an organized crime group in Ukraine, organized crime group in Russia.

TAPPER: Organized crime everywhere, organized crime in Brooklyn, organized crime in the Bronx.

I mean, you know, that -- that -- I think that's making the leap.

(CROSSTALK)

GIULIANI: Oh, well, that's OK. He can have ties to organized crime. They can have bank fraud. That's just fine.

When somebody testifies against your client, you go out, and you look at what's wrong with them. Why are they doing it, if they're not telling the truth?

TAPPER: OK.

GIULIANI: He's not -- he's doing it because he's afraid to testify against his father-in-law, because the repercussions for that will be far worse than the repercussions for lying here...

TAPPER: I think... 

GIULIANI: ... because now he gets applauded in New York, where the crazy anti-Trumpers applaud for him.

(APPLAUSE)

TAPPER: So, I think...

GIULIANI: He goes and testifies -- he goes and testifies against some people -- let me finish.

TAPPER: Yes.

GIULIANI: He goes and testifies against some people that are possibly in organized crime, they ain't going to be applauding for him when he goes into a restaurant in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, believe me.

TAPPER: I think...

GIULIANI: I did this for 15 years of my life.