But only Congressman Paul Gosar, Arizona's sole representative at the hearing, invoked a taunt that you’d more expect to hear on a playground than during a Congressional hearing.
“The old adage our moms taught us, ‘Liar, liar, pants on fire,’” Gosar said. Next to Gosar was a poster of Cohen emblazoned with the same elementary "adage."
Gosar, who has falsely accused George Soros of orchestrating the Charlottesville white nationalist rally, used his time to repeatedly call Cohen a liar and attack his integrity.
"You want us to make sure that we think of you as a real philanthropic icon, that you’re about justice. That you’re the person someone would call at 3 a.m. in the morning. No, you’re not,” Gosar said, referring to a line in Cohen’s prepared statement. "You’re a pathological liar. You don’t know truth from falsehood.”
Cohen responded, "Are you referring to me or the president?"
Rep. Paul Gosar: "You're a pathological liar! You don't know truth from falsehood."
— ABC News (@ABC) February 27, 2019
Michael Cohen: "Sir, I'm sorry, are you referring to me or the president?" https://t.co/55qPzPJjvk pic.twitter.com/trRI0IH2u6
Gosar also accused Cohen of testifying before Congress to curry favor with federal prosecutors at the Southern District of New York to reduce the sentence for his federal fraud conviction.
"I’m not sure how my appearance here today is providing substantial information that the Southern District can use for the creation of a case,” Cohen responded. "Now if there is something this group can do for me I would welcome it."
Cohen pleaded guilty in August to breaking campaign finance laws when he made hush payments to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump, including Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. He was also convicted of bank and tax crimes, and has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Gosar, whose five siblings appeared in a campaign ad against him last year, also attacked Cohen for being disloyal to President Trump.
"I’m sure you remember, or maybe you don’t remember, duty of loyalty, duty of confidentiality, attorney-client privilege,” he said.
Toward the end of his questioning, while accusing Cohen of acting solely out of self-promotion, Gosar read the bio from @WomenForCohen, a fake Twitter account the ex-lawyer paid for to write flattering tweets about him.
"Women who love and support Michael Cohen. Strong, pit bull, sex symbol, no nonsense, business oriented, and ready to make a difference!”
Cohen responded, “1,000 followers?"
