国际英语新闻:U.S. House panel postpones former Trump lawyer Cohen's testimony

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House Intelligence Committee has postponed a closed-door testimony of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, until later this month, the panel said Wednesday.

"In the interests of the investigation, Michael Cohen's testimony has been postponed until Feb. 28th," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said in a statement.

Cohen had been scheduled to testify before the panel on Friday as part of its newly-revived probe into alleged Russian interference.

He was slated to appear publicly before the House Oversight Committee this Thursday, but postponed that appearance last month, cited threats from Trump and the president's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. That hearing has not been rescheduled.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has also subpoenaed Cohen for an appearance in a closed door session next week.

Cohen, 52, is expected to begin his three-year prison sentence in March after pleading guilty in December to campaign finance-related crimes in which he implicated the president.

He is also a person of interest in the ongoing Russia inquiry led by special counsel Robert Mueller, whose investigation focuses on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

Trump has slammed Cohen as "a weak person" and the Russia probe as a "witch hunt."

Cohen previously served as a vice-president of the Trump Organization and special counsel to Trump.