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I must've seen at least 3 Congressmen ask Michael Cohen, President Trump's former personal attorney, who Individual 1 was, despite the fact that in the beginning he had already said it was Donald Trump, and despite the fact that previous members had already asked him that question, as well.

What is the reason for this? What benefit does it have when the statement is already in the record?

You're assuming that the questions are asked solely for the public record.

Here's another reason...

Members of Congress want video of themselves asking good questions that will be broadcast by their local news media and / or used in campaign commercials.

And another...

Often times you'll notice that committee seats are empty during hearings. That's because members come and go during the hearing. It's possible that one member asks a question that was asked by another member earlier in the day before the first member arrived. (Although I don't think that was the case in the Cohen hearing, as the entire committee seemed to be present for the duration.)

• Members of Congress may not fully trust the witness. This is especially the case with Michael Cohen, who has been convicted of lying to Congress. Asking a witness about the same thing multiple times makes them more likely to contradict themselves (or their written testimony) if they're lying.



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  Witnesses sometimes dodge questions or give incomplete answers. Members that aren't satisfied may ask again to press for more information. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) specifically gave this as a reason for one of his questions during Cohen's recent hearing.

  
  
  

  
  

  I'm going to give you another opportunity to respond what you brushed off earlier regarding your own statement during this testimony...

  
  

  
  



• Grandstanding. The members may be looking to create clips and soundbites of themselves that can be politically beneficial in the future. On the flip side, when the witness is themselves a politician, opponents who sit on the committee can use the hearing as an opportunity to politically damage the witness.

Public Congressional hearings are nothing but spectacles for voters masked as a serious inquiry. Nothing ever comes out of them besides hours of video footage, as Congressmen don't need these hearings to arrive to any important decisions. At best, these hearings serve to justify a proposed law that's already been decided upon by one of the parties. At worst it's just a waste of taxpayer money and a way for individual Congressmen to show off how tough and inquisitive they are.

In this context it becomes clear that Congressmen only ask questions which make them look good on TV. And if one Congressmen finds a question that sounds good to the average Joe in their state, there's a high chance others would copycat them. It could also be explained by laziness - since Congressmen don't really care about what's being said at the hearing, they're likewise too lazy to bother to follow what's been asked before. Sure, a few people would laugh at their supposed ignorance, but most voters won't notice that something's amiss.

It’s because it’s understood that people under questioning may stall for time by giving the evasive answers.

So to ask the same question is to show the person under investigation that the panel is not fooled. It also gives them a chance for them to come clean and make a confession.

This will depend on what they already know, and what they have surmised about the situation, and of course the truth about the situation at hand.