Thread: A tale of two Michael Cohens: Sentencing memos paint opposite portraits of Trump ex-l

A tale of two Michael Cohens: Sentencing memos paint opposite portraits of Trump ex-lawyer

Michael J. Stern, Opinion contributor
Published 3:15 a.m. ET Dec. 11, 2018

Michael Cohen’s sentencing is at hand. I'd advise him to bring a toothbrush to court Wednesday. He wants to avoid prison, but that's not going to happen.

The clock is ticking for Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer. Though he has asked for no jail time, the real question is how much he'll get in light of dueling sentencing memos that paint entirely different pictures of him.

Last week, speculation from TV pundits fueled a frenzy of analysis as to whether federal prosecutors would recommend prison time for Cohen. The answer came late Friday, when the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office asked that Cohen be sentenced to “a substantial term of imprisonment.” Special counsel Robert Mueller also filed a memo and said Cohen's sentence "should reflect the fact that lying to federal investigators has real consequences."

Cohen's sentencing Wednesday in New York will consolidate his guilty pleas in two cases for convictions relating to his illegal activities on Trump's behalf.

The U.S. Attorney’s memo centers on Cohen’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election by paying hush money to two women with whom then-candidate Trump allegedly had affairs. The memo also discusses evidence of Cohen’s personal tax and bank fraud convictions. Mueller presents facts that surfaced earlier this month when Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in an effort to bolster Trump's claims that he had no business dealings with Russia.

'A Tale of Two Michael Cohens' in memos

Charles Dickens’ masterful novel "A Tale of Two Cities" begins this way: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The sentencing papers filed by Cohen’s attorneys, and later by federal prosecutors, reflect a similar study in contrasts — presenting a tale of two Michael Cohens.

In support of their request that he serve no time in prison, Cohen's attorneys offered a series of testimonials from friends who described the private Michael Cohen as a “truly caring” man with a “huge heart” who is not only “an upstanding, honorable, salt of the earth man” but also a “selfless caretaker.”

The choirboy portrayed by Cohen’s lawyers stands in sharp opposition to Cohen’s public persona as Trump’s legal bulldog, who once threatened a reporter with: “What I’m going to do to you is going to be f---ing disgusting. Do you understand me?”

Prosecutors focused their sentencing memo on Cohen as Mr. Hyde. Not only did they detail Cohen’s illegal activities, which include millions of dollars of fraud, they also recognized the public damage that stemmed from his political crimes — describing Cohen as “a man who knowingly sought to undermine core institutions of our democracy.”

Rebuffing efforts by Cohen’s attorneys to recast him as a good guy who made a few small mistakes, prosecutors cited texts, statements of witnesses, recordings, documents and other evidence that proved Cohen got ahead by employing a “pattern of deception that permeated his professional life.” The prosecutors attributed Cohen’s crimes to “personal greed,” an effort to “increase his power and influence,” and a desire to maintain his “opulent lifestyle.”

Perhaps the most damning reveal in the U.S. Attorney’s sentencing memo is that Cohen refused to fully cooperate. That's despite his public relations campaign to convince us that he is a new man who will cooperate with any law enforcement authority, at any time, at any place.

As a former federal prosecutor who handled hundreds of plea deals like Cohen’s, I can say it is extremely rare for any credit to be recommended when a defendant decides not to sign a full cooperation deal. The only reason for a refusal would be to hide information. The prosecutors said as much in their sentencing memo: Cohen refused “to be debriefed on other uncharged criminal conduct, if any, in his past," and "further declined" to discuss “other areas of investigative interest.”

Cohen should bring a toothbrush to court

Given that most federal prosecutors would have told Cohen “full cooperation or no cooperation,” the intelligence information Cohen offered Mueller must have been useful. Mueller’s memo says Cohen provided information at the “core” of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Mueller also strongly implies that Cohen’s disclosures implicate the president in criminal activities.

Neither the New York prosecutors nor Mueller recommended a specific sentence for Cohen. However, the U.S. Attorney hinted that 42 months in prison would be an acceptable “modest variance” from Cohen’s 51-to-63 month guideline range and would sufficiently reward Cohen for his limited cooperation. The court typically places great reliance on a prosecutor’s recommendation for a reduction in sentence based on cooperation. If I were advising Cohen, I would encourage him to bring his toothbrush to court Wednesday.

It is striking how thoroughly the New York prosecutors' filing undoes the sentencing papers from Cohen's attorneys. The theme throughout Cohen's papers is that he should be allowed to pay his debt to society by skipping prison and beginning his life “virtually anew.”

That’s not going to happen.

Michael Cohen was a member of the president’s inner circle who participated in continuous, aggressive and often illegal representation of his biggest client. When you are a key ingredient in the combustion of a global nightmare, a fairy tale is unlikely to follow.

Michael J. Stern was a federal prosecutor with the Justice Department for 25 years in Detroit and Los Angeles.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/opini...mn/2263960002/

As a former federal prosecutor who handled hundreds of plea deals like Cohen’s, I can say it is extremely rare for any credit to be recommended when a defendant decides not to sign a full cooperation deal. The only reason for a refusal would be to hide information. The prosecutors said as much in their sentencing memo: Cohen refused “to be debriefed on other uncharged criminal conduct, if any, in his past," and "further declined" to discuss “other areas of investigative interest.”

Doesn't sound to me like Cohen "flipped", probably because there's nothing to flip about.

I feel sorry for Michael. He doesn't deserve any of this. I hope when things calm down a bit, Trump will consider a pardon for him.