US: Cohen agrees to testify before House Oversight Committee

United States President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen has agreed to testify publicly before the House Oversight and Reform Committee next month.

Cohen, in a statement, confirmed that he has agreed to testify publicly before the panel on February 7, reported The Hill. Cohen also said that he is looking forward "to having the privilege of being afforded a platform with which to give a full and credible account of the events which have transpired."

Michael Cohen has been sentenced to three years in prison for a series of federal crimes including two campaign finance crimes tied to illicit payments made to silence women during the presidential campaign he committed while working for the US President.

The Democratic chairman Elijah Cummings of the panel in a statement announced, "I thank Michael Cohen for agreeing to testify before the Oversight Committee voluntarily," reported The Hill.

The Democratic Chairman added, "He'll have a chance to tell his side of the story, and we'll have a chance to question him. The American people deserve that."

"I want to make clear that, we have no interest in inappropriately interfering with any ongoing criminal investigations, and to that end, we are in the process of consulting with Special Counsel Mueller's office. The Committee will announce additional information in the coming weeks," he further said.

This is the major move by the Democrats to drag in a member of the US President's team connected to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian collusion in Trump's election campaign.

"I thank Michael Cohen for agreeing to testify before the Oversight Committee voluntarily. I want to make clear that we have no interest in inappropriately interfering with any ongoing criminal investigations, and to that end, we are in the process of consulting with Special Counsel Mueller's office," stated Elijah Cummings.