'Liar, Pants on Fire': GOP keeps focus on Cohen, not Trump

A poster propped behind Republicans grilling Michael Cohen set out their strategy in five words: "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!"

They sounded angry, whipped off their glasses and threw paper down on their desks as they questioned President Donald Trump's former "fixer" about his misdeeds — all while conspicuously avoiding Cohen's contention that he did Trump's bidding, possibly in violation of the law, for decades.

Rather than rush to the president's defense on his payments to a porn star or what Cohen described as pressure to violate the law, Republicans hammered on Cohen for being a convicted liar, suggesting he's especially lying now about Trump. The president piped up from Vietnam during the hearing with a similar approach.

"He is lying in order to reduce his prison time," Trump tweeted.

But by then, Republicans were well into their effort to discredit the man Trump has called a "rat."

"You've claimed that you've lied but you're not a liar," said Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga. "Just to set the record straight, if you lied, you are a liar by definition."

While Republicans focused on lies, Democrats talked about truth — about Trump, about the payments, about the inner workings and finances of the Trump Organization. They took pains to condemn Cohen for his false statement to Congress, acknowledging the considerable baggage he brought as a witness. Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., opened the hearing with a no-nonsense lecture to Cohen and later said he would "nail him to the cross" for lying to the committee.

But Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., suggested truthfulness wasn't the issue.

"I don't think colleagues on the other side of the aisle are afraid that you're going to lie," Lynch told Cohen. "I think they're afraid you're going to tell the truth."

The true-or-false gamesmanship pointed to a more consequential political struggle, one that is just now getting under way. Democrats wanted to convince the public that Cohen's testimony was a legitimate and necessary use of their new oversight power, with more to come. Repeatedly, they used their questioning of Cohen to set up new lines of inquiry, asking him for the names of other people in Trump's orbit that they should interview.

All the while, Republicans portrayed the hearing as a sham, motivated by animus against the president, with Cohen's mere presence in the hearing room serving as proof.

Cohen was already heading to prison next month after pleading guilty to violating campaign finance laws and yes, lying to Congress. In his opening statement, Cohen again admitted having lied to protect Trump and himself.

Calling Cohen a liar over and over during Wednesday's proceedings didn't stand up to the documentation he brought with him — including what he said was a copy of a $35,000 check signed by Trump, then president. Cohen said it was one of 11 checks Trump wrote to repay Cohen for the cash paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged affair. He told the panel that Trump pressured him to lie to first lady Melania Trump about the matter. Cohen said Trump pressured him to suppress the truth about his college grades and the real reason he did not serve in Vietnam — a deferment later attributed to bone spurs.

Cohen also suggested there could be more revelations to come. He suggested prosecutors in New York are investigating conversations that Trump or his advisers had with Cohen after Cohen's hotel-room office was raided by the FBI.

He said Trump did not ask him directly to lie to Congress, specifying that's not the president's style. But he said there was pressure to lie in the form of suggestive words from Trump, including in one instance, in the Oval Office.

At one point, he said he appreciates that Republicans are attacking "me every single time about taxes, (saying) I have no credibility."

"It's for exactly that reason that I spent the last week searching boxes in order to find the information that I did so that you don't have to take my word for it. I don't want you to," he said. "I want you to look at the documents."

Republicans held firm to their goal of showing Cohen can't be trusted.

"Where are those boxes? Are they in your garage or...?" asked Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who asked for more detail on whether they should have been turned over to law enforcement.

They were confiscated by the FBI, and then returned, Cohen said.

Other Republicans went off on Cohen, including Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a top Trump ally who pointed his glasses at Cohen and at times shouted. He took aim at Cohen's testimony that Trump was a racist who said black people would not vote for him because they're "too stupid."

About 90 minutes into the hearing, a woman named Lynne Patton, a longtime Trump family aide who works at the Department of Housing and Urban Development stood behind Meadows.

Meadows said Patton, who is African American, would not work for someone who is racist.

"Neither should I as the son of a Holocaust survivor," Cohen replied.

Later, freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan said that using Patton as a "prop" was racist. Meadows objected. Tlaib said she "was not referring to you at all as a racist" and apologized "if that's what it sounded like."

Some Republicans got to the point.

"You're either incompetent or you are a liar," said Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio.

Added Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.: "You are a pathological liar. You don't note truth from falsehood."

"I'm sorry," said Cohen. "Are you referring to me or the president?"

Cohen grew visibly emotional at the end of the hearing as Cummings thanked him for coming. Face reddening, Cohen appeared to be holding back tears and took a sip of water as he composed himself. It was one of several moments during the hearing where Cohen's old bravado as Trump's fixer was seemingly gone.

"Good luck on your road to redemption," said Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif., at one point.

"Thank you," Cohen replied. "It's going to be a long way."

Associated Press Writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

Follow Kellman on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/APLaurieKellman

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The investigation into the Brown University mass shooting has dragged on for more than four days with no named suspect, motive, weapon or even a clear image of the assailant's face that might help bring them to justice.

Investigators have been hobbled by the lack of clear eyewitness accounts of the shooter and few, if any, cameras in the wing of the building where the attack happened. Despite these difficulties, frustration was mounting Wednesday over the lack of progress in the investigation into the attack that killed two students and wounded nine others.

Here are some answers to questions about the attack and investigation:

The attack plunged the Ivy League school's campus into chaos, and there was initial confusion in the immediate aftermath. This includes President Donald Trump, who announced Saturday night that the shooter was in custody but retracted that statement 20 minutes later. Then, authorities announced early Sunday that they had detained a person of interest, but they released the person hours later after determining he didn't do it.

Police officials insist the man's detention didn't stop them from continuing to investigate other leads before his release.

Authorities have since released several security videos of a person they think might have carried out the attack. They show the individual standing, walking and even running along the streets, but their face is masked or turned away in all of them.

The state attorney general said the wing of the building where the attack happened has few “if any” cameras, and investigators believe the shooter entered and left through a door that faces a residential street bordering campus. The building is on the edge of campus, which might explain why the cameras Brown does have didn’t capture footage of the person.

Separately, Providence police on Wednesday released a new photo of a different individual who they said was in “proximity of the person of interest” and asked the public to help identify that person so they could speak with them.

On Wednesday, Providence’s police chief, Col. Oscar Perez, said student witnesses’ accounts of the shooter match the masked person that authorities are seeking. They have stopped short of calling them a suspect, referring to them, too, as a person of interest — stressing that they believe the person was casing the area ahead of the attack.

Very little, aside from what we see of them in the footage. Investigators have described the person as being about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall and stocky.

We still don't know. Although police said this week that they believe Brown was targeted and that the videos suggest the masked person was casing the building, no one has taken credit for the attack and investigators apparently still hadn't identified a suspect as of Wednesday.

Police once again stressed Wednesday that they haven't found any evidence that a specific person was being targeted in the attack.

Police say they still don't know. The finals study session was for a “Principles of Economics” course that attracts hundreds of students each semester, but police are still tracking down how many may have been in the room.

Paxson said the university has two security systems. One is activated at a time of emergency and sent out text messages, phone calls and emails that, in this shooting, reached 20,000 people. The other system features three sirens across campus, but Paxson said that would not be activated in an active shooter situation. Brown’s website says the sirens can be used when there is an active shooter, but Paxson said it “depends on the circumstances” and the location of the shooter.

The two students who were killed and the nine others injured were studying for a final in a first-floor classroom in an older section of the engineering building when the shooter walked in and opened fire.

The students who were killed were 19-year-old sophomore Ella Cook and 18-year-old freshman MukhammadAziz Umurzokov. Cook, whose funeral is Monday, was active in her Alabama church and served as vice president of the Brown College Republicans. Umurzokov’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan when he was a child, and he aspired to be a doctor.

As for the wounded, one remained hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday and five were in stable condition, officials said. The other three were discharged.

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Contributing were Associated Press reporters Kimberlee Kruesi, Amanda Swinhart, Robert F. Bukaty, Matt O'Brien and Jennifer McDermott in Providence; Michael Casey in Boston; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Kathy McCormack and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Eric Tucker in Washington.

This combo image made with photos provided by the FBI and the Providence, Rhode Island, Police Department shows a person of interest in the shooting that occurred at Brown University in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI/Providence Police Department via AP)

A memorial of flowers and signs lay outside the Barus and Holley engineering building at Brown University, on Hope Street in Providence, R.I., on Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt OBrien)

A Brown University student leaves campus, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, after all classes, exams and papers were canceled for the rest of the Fall 2025 semester following the school shooting, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)