"Not fully clear"

An attorney for Michael Cohen on Tuesday sent a letter to House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) seeking to clarify Cohen’s testimony before the committee about a potential presidential pardon.

Cohen’s attorney Michael Monico acknowledged in the letter that his client's testimony before the panel was not fully clear.

  The Hill

Beginning to sound like Roger Stone's lawyers.

Questions about whether Cohen may have perjured himself during his public testimony last month have emerged over his testimony that he “never asked for, nor would I accept a pardon from President Trump.”

[...]

But [Monico] maintained that his client was telling the panel the truth when Cohen said he had not sought a pardon, because he was referring to the time since a joint-defense agreement ended with President Trump last June.

Monico said that Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer and "fixer," had told his lawyers to explore the possibility of a pardon when it was offered by the president's legal representatives following the FBI raids on Cohen's home and office.

Maybe he could have mentioned that caveat when he testified.

“In retrospect, while the sentence could have been clearer regarding the time frames, the sentence is true, and Mr. Cohen stands by his statement,” the letter reads.

Actually, no, it wasn't true.

Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis said in a statement shortly after the testimony that the prospect of a pardon was raised by legal representatives for Trump after the FBI raids on Cohen's home and office, but that nothing came of it.

In other words, he got turned down.

“At no time did Mr. Cohen personally ask President Trump for a pardon or did the president offer Mr. Cohen the same,” the letter reads.

There's the key. Cohen was playing the technicality angle. Which he shouldn't have done. Asking through your lawyer is legally asking. He knew that.

Trump alleged last week that Cohen directly asked him for a pardon, a claim that Cohen immediately disputed.

And that, I can believe. While they're both liars, Trump will still be lying when he's put on the stand, when he's arraigned, and when he goes to his grave. If there are two different versions of a story, and Trump is telling one, count on his version to be the lie.

Cummings had promised to “be the first” to refer Cohen for prosecution if he made further false statements.

And Cohen has put him in a pickle.

Cohen will report to federal prison in May to serve three years on several federal charges, including making false statements to lawmakers.

[...]

Cummings said last week that he wants to examine the transcript from Cohen’s closed-door testimony with the House Intelligence Committee before deciding whether the president’s ex-fixer committed perjury.

I think he should go ahead and refer him. Cohen knew what was at stake.  He was so careful about his answers that it seems unlikely he didn't intentionally shade that one.  And why?  Stupid.  His lawyers should have nudged him.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.