Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen sentenced to three years in prison
The Cohen legal battle has come to a close, as former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who is 52 years old, was sentenced three years in prison this morning for various crimes he committed while working as a standalone businessman and then for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. The charges Cohen faces include tax evasion, campaign finance violations, and lying to Congress about the president’s business talks with Moscow over building a Trump skyscraper in Russia.
For weeks now, Cohen’s legal strategy has been to persuade the court and prosecutors that he is a changed man with reformed morals, and that he willingly chose to cut off long-standing ties with President Trump, instead of siding with the president and searching for a presidential pardon. Cohen once told an interviewer that he would “take a bullet” for President Trump, but things have changed recently as Cohen changed his political party registration from Republican to Democrat, and began cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller back in August as part of a plea deal. Cohen’s lawyers, who believed his assistance to Mueller was “substantial,” have been attempting to gain leniency in his sentence as a reward for his help. According to federal guidelines, the standard sentencing for Cohen’s crimes is around four years in prison, but Cohen was sentenced to three years by U.S. District Judge William Pauley III.
Cohen’s lawyers have argued several times to lessen or even completely eliminate a prison sentence for Cohen in recent months. They claim that some of the crimes committed by Cohen were influenced by an overenthusiasm for Trump, and not malicious intent. Cohen’s legal team believes that Michael has suffered enough in the recent months, and that he deserves no prison time at all.
New York prosecutors, however, believe that Cohen failed to cooperate with the Mueller probe and that he overstated his assistance to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team. They have only asked for a slight reduction in Cohen’s sentence, which was granted with the sentencing of three years instead of four. The prosecutors stated that a probation sentence would be unfitting for Cohen.
Prosecutors believe that Cohen orchestrated “hush payments” from President Trump to two women that allege they had affairs with Trump during his marriage. President Trump has frequently denied the affairs and tweeted on Monday that the payments were a “simple private transaction.” The president has also bashed Cohen over his assistance with the Mueller probe, saying that Cohen “lied” and that he deserves to “serve a full and complete sentence.” Michael Cohen’s other charges include around $1.4 million dollars in tax evasion, and misleading Congress about ongoing discussions between the Trump team and Russia over a plan to construct a skyscraper in Russia’s capital city.
“Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced.”
— President Donald J. Trump, in a tweet posted Monday.
Cohen is the latest figure connected with President Trump to be convicted or plead guilty to crimes since Trump has taken the Oval Office back in the beginning of last year. Other controversial figures close to Trump include former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign aide Rick Gates, former adviser George Papadopoulos, and more recently, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Despite the many convictions of former Trump aides, prosecutors have been unable to find a solid “smoking gun” of evidence relating President Trump to any of the wrongdoings committed. The president acknowledged this in a somewhat confusing tweet on Monday, saying that “Democrats can’t find a Smocking Gun tying the Trump campaign to Russia after [former FBI director] James Comey’s testimony. No Smocking Gun…No Collusion.”
While speaking in court just before the sentence was announced, Cohen said that his “blind loyalty” for Trump led him “to take a path of darkness instead of light.” Cohen told the judge that he felt it was his duty to cover up the president’s “dirty deeds,” and that he takes full responsibility for each act. According to Fox News, he’s been ordered to $1.4 million in restitution, a $50,000 fine, and forfeit $500,000. Cohen does not have to report to prison until March 6th.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that all of Cohen’s crimes occurred while he was working for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. This statement is incorrect, as the tax evasion occurred before he was working for Trump. Cohen avoided paying taxes on nearly 4 million U.S. dollars that he earned through a number of practices, including his ownership of taxi medallions, selling of real estate in Florida, and consulting work for other clients. We’ve corrected this article and regret the error.
This is a developing story. Information may be added later, if necessary.
Sources: Associated Press, Fox News