Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 1-25-19

White House And Political News
Trump Marks MLK Day With 2-Minute Memorial Visit
Michael Cohen Postpones House
Testimony, Citing 'Threats Against His Family'
President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen announced he is postponing his public congressional testimony that was scheduled for February 7, citing "ongoing threats against his family" from the President and his attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Democrats are now consid- ering whether to subpoena Cohen to compel his testi- mony before he reports to prison next month, and at least one senior Democrat on the House Oversight Com- mittee said he expects Chair- man Elijah Cummings of Maryland to issue a sub- poena.
"Due to ongoing threats against his family from Pres- ident Trump and Mr. Giu- liani, as recently as this weekend, as well as Cohen's continued cooperation with ongoing investigations, by ad- vice of counsel, Cohen's ap- pearance will be postponed to a later date," Cohen's attor- ney Lanny Davis said in a statement. " Cohen wishes to thank Chairman Cummings for allowing him to appear before the House Oversight Committee and looks forward to testifying at the appropri- ate time."
MICHAEL COHEN
Davis added, "This is a time where Cohen had to put his family and their safety first."
A source told reporters on Wednesday that Cohen's wife and father-in-law feel threatened by comments by the President and Giuliani, Trump's attorney. It has been Cohen's intention to testify, but he has had reser- vations — and vacillated — because of concerns for his family given the Trump and Giuliani statements, the source said.
Cohen's decision raises questions about whether he will ultimately testify pub- licly. He reports to prison for a three-year sentence on March 6.
President Donald Trump made a brief ap- pearance Monday at Wash- ington’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, honor- ing the civil rights icon with a wreath on the federal holiday bearing his name.
The president, accompa- nied by Vice President Mike Pence and acting Inte- rior Secretary David Bern- hardt, spent roughly two minutes at the memorial.
Trump left the White House late Monday morning for an unannounced trip to the King memorial, traveling there via motorcade, accord- ing to the White House press pool. The president had faced some criticism for his previ- ously released schedule, which did not include any public events marking Mar- tin Luther King Jr. day.
At the memorial, Trump and Pence laid a wreath at the base of a sculpture of King. The president made only brief remarks to re- porters, thanking them for being there. The temperature
President Donald Trump, center, and Vice President Mike Pence, left, walk off after visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington.
Monday was 19 degrees with a wind chill of two degrees.
He did not respond to shouted questions on the on- going government shutdown, now in its 31st day, which has shuttered the non-open-air portions of Washington’s monuments and memorials
on and around the National Mall, including the King me- morial.
The White House issued a lid — a signal that the day’s public events had concluded — shortly after the presi- dent’s arrival back at the White House.
Pelosi Denies Trump Use Of House Chamber For State Of The Union
President Donald Trump declared his annual State of the Union address "canceled" on Wednesday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent word she would bar him from delivering the speech in the House chamber while parts of the government remain shut down.
The back-and-forth esca- lated one of the rancorous sub- plots of the extended standoff over border security that has shuttered several government agencies and forced hundreds of thousands of federal workers to go unpaid.
Even as the two leaders sent each other letters dripping with barely veiled disgust, they did not plan to meet face-to-face and haven't spoken directly in weeks.
After receiving Pelosi's message, Trump railed against Democrats and indi- cated he would announce plans for an alternative address in due course. Officials have sug- gested options including a speech from the White House or a rally outside of Washing- ton.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
"The State of the Union speech has been canceled by Nancy Pelosi because she doesn't want to hear the truth. She doesn't want the American public to hear what's going on, and she's afraid of the truth," Trump said from the Cabinet Room after Pelosi made her intentions known in a letter.
Trump bemoaned the de- cision, calling it a "great blotch on the incredible country we love."
"It's a great, great, horrible
NANCY PELOSI
mark," Trump said.
Trump had insisted ear-
lier in a letter to Pelosi that he was planning on presenting his annual address from the cham- ber of the U. S. House next week as planned, essentially daring the body's top Democrat to formally disinvite him from delivering the yearly message. Hours later, Pelosi appeared to take the dare, saying she would refuse to bring up for a vote a measure that would allow Trump to speak.
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