WASHINGTON — Michael Cohen answered questions from Democrats and traded attacks with Republicans Wednesday during a House committee hearing.

The House Oversight Committee brought President Trump’s former personal attorney in to answer questions that related to issues as varied as the president’s finances, to hush money paid out to Stormy Daniels to some questions about the Russia investigation.

Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said at the outset that the point of this committee was to serve as a check on the government’s conduct, including the White House.

“The American people voted for accountability in November, and they have a right to hear Mr. Cohen in public so they can make their own judgments. Mr. Cohen’s testimony is the beginning of the process – not the end,” Cummings said in his opening statement.

Republicans, however, objected to taking testimony from Cohen, who was convicted of lying to Congress and is going to prison for that and other charges.

The ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, called Cohen a fraudster and cheat, while other Republicans said he was a pathological liar, and at some points questioned whether he was lying to them now.

“Certainly it’s the first time a convicted perjurer has been brought back to be a star witness at a hearing,” Jordan said.

Cohen tried to tell the committee that he was looking for redemption.

"I am trying. I'm trying," Cohen said.

Here are five things to take away from Cohen’s testimony:

1. President Trump received advanced warning of Wikileaks email release, but Cohen doesn’t directly charge campaign collusion with Russia. 

Cohen told the committee that he was in the president’s office in 2016 when adviser Roger Stone told Trump that he had spoken to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and that there would soon be a “massive dump” of emails harmful to the Clinton campaign.

Cohen’s statement contradicts the president’s claims that he did not have advanced knowledge.

Cohen said the president was also aware of the June 2016 meeting that his son, Donald Trump Jr., took with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower.

Cohen would not say the president was directly involved in collusion, but said the younger Trump  would not have set up a meeting without checking with his father.

Stone himself said Cohen’s claim was not true. Stone himself is facing charges of witness tampering and obstruction in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

2. Trump directed Cohen to lie about hush money for affair. 

Cohen said that the president called him and asked him to say that the president “wasn’t knowledgeable” about a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had an affair with the president.

Cohen said the statement was part of a public messaging discussion.

Cohen says the president also pressured him to lie to first lady Melania Trump about the hush money payments.

3. President Trump deeply involved in repaying Cohen for hush money during presidency. 

Cohen said the president personally signed a check that repaid him for hush money paid to Daniels.

Cohen presented the $35,000 check to the committee. It was dated August 2017.

Cohen says he shelled out $130,000 to Daniels to cover up an alleged affair, which the president denies.

Prosecutors in Cohen’s case said the Trump Organization repaid Cohen in monthly installments, with sham invoices concealing the true nature of the payments.

4. From Vietnam, President Trump joined fellow Republicans in attacking Cohen’s credibility as an admitted liar. 

The president didn't post directly about the hearing, but his account did retweet a post from early Wednesday morning, eastern time. 

 The president’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., also took to Twitter to criticize Cohen and the hearing, calling him a disgruntled ex-employee and likening the testimony to a breakup letter.

5. This begins what promises to be a long process of Democrats calling witnesses. 

Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings said in his opening statement that the committee would be gathering more documents and testimony related to the president’s conduct, calling Cohen’s testimony the beginning of the process, and not the end.

“The days of this committee protecting the president at all costs is over,” he added.

Rep. Jim Jordan accused the Democrats of bringing in Cohen to testify so that can start the process of impeaching the president.

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.