Thread: Michael Cohen, former Trump attorney, gets 3 years in prison

Published 6 mins ago

Michael Cohen, former Trump attorney, gets 3 years in prison for tax fraud, campaign finance violations, lying

By Alex Pappas | Fox News


Michael Cohen sentenced to 36 months in prison

President Trump's former personal attorney is sentenced on tax fraud, lying charges; Laura Ingle reports from the courthouse in New York.

Michael Cohen, the president’s former fixer who once famously claimed he was willing to "take a bullet" for Donald Trump before later turning against his boss, was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday by a federal judge in New York after pleading guilty to numerous crimes while cooperating with prosecutors.

Before sentencing, Cohen ripped into his former boss in federal court, telling the judge he felt it was his duty to cover up the president's “dirty deeds.”

Cohen appeared before U.S. District Judge William Pauley III for sentencing after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations, tax evasion and lying to Congress about Trump’s past business dealings in Russia. He was seen entering the Manhattan courthouse Wednesday accompanied by members of his family.

Speaking in court before the judge issued the sentence, Cohen said “blind loyalty” to Trump led him “to take a path of darkness instead of light.”

Cohen doesn't have to report to prison until March 6. He also was ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution and a $50,000 fine, and forfeit $500,000.

A contrite Cohen, speaking in court, told the judge he takes “full responsibility for each act,” saying the “sooner I am sentenced, the sooner I can return to my family."

Cohen also apologized to the people of the United States, saying, "You deserve to know the truth."

The sentence, while not the maximum, signifies a remarkable fall for the hard-charging lawyer who for years was part of Trump’s inner circle. The charges against Cohen arose from two separate investigations – one by federal prosecutors in New York, and the other by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Both cases hold potential implications for Trump. His admission in the former to breaking the law in making hush-money payments during the 2016 campaign to two women who claimed affairs with Trump has raised questions about whether prosecutors may eventually pursue charges against the president. Sentencing memos filed last week showed Cohen also told investigators about more Russia contacts that could fuel the collusion aspect of Mueller’s probe.

Lawyers for Cohen -- who worked as Trump’s counselor before the presidential campaign, advocated for him on television during the presidential race and remained his personal lawyer at the beginning of the administration -- had asked for leniency because of his cooperation with both the office of Special Counsel Mueller and prosecutors looking into campaign finance violations in New York.

But on Friday, federal prosecutors recommended a “substantial term of imprisonment” for Cohen, saying his efforts to cooperate with Mueller have been “overstated.” Federal prosecutors said that Cohen was “motivated” by “personal greed” and “repeatedly used his power and influence for deceptive ends.”

[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2)]Video


Among other charges, Cohen recently pleaded guilty to misleading Congress about his work on a proposal to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow, hiding the fact that he continued to speak with Russians about the proposal well into the presidential campaign.

In the New York case, prosecutors accused Cohen of a years-long “tax evasion scheme” to avoid paying federal income taxes on more than $4 million made through a number of ventures, including through his ownership of taxi medallions, his selling of real estate in Florida and his consulting work for other clients.

Cohen also pleaded guilty in August to breaking campaign finance laws by helping orchestrate payments to silence former Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who said they had sexual encounters with Trump while he was married.

READ: MICHAEL COHEN SENTENCING MEMO FILED BY PROSECUTORS

Prosecutors said Cohen orchestrated payments to McDougal and Daniels at Trump's direction.

Trump has lashed out at Cohen over his cooperation with prosecutors, recently saying Cohen “lied” and deserves to “serve a full and complete sentence.”

A sentencing memo filed by prosecutors said Cohen “acted in coordination and at the direction of” Trump in making those payments.” But in a tweet this week, Trump denied the payments to Daniels and McDougal were campaign contributions, instead calling them a “simple private transaction.” Trump also said if mistakes were made, the “liability” should be with Cohen, his lawyer, and not him.
“Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced,” the president tweeted Monday.

Cohen is the latest example of people connected to Trump who have pleaded guilty or been convicted of crimes since Trump has entered the White House, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former campaign aide Rick Gates and former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/coh...-of-sentencing

Feds: Cohen broke the law at Trump's direction

Cohen to reveal more on Trump after Mueller inquiry, lawyer says – live

• Cohen guilty of hush money payments and lying to Congress
• Former fixer to start three-year prison term in March 2019

LIVE Updated 2m ago

Michael Cohen leaves federal court in New York on Wednesday after being sentenced to three years in prison. Photograph: Justin Lane/EPABen Jacobs in Washington

@Bencjacobs
Wed 12 Dec 2018 14.01 ESTFirst published on Wed 12 Dec 2018 09.02 EST

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Key events

• 24m agoProsecutors reach non-prosecution agreement with National Enquirer
• 2h agoMichael Cohen sentenced to three years in jail
• 2h agoCohen: "I take full responsibility for each act"
• 3h agoJulian Castro forms exploratory committee

Live feed

2m ago14:01
The Senate just voted to overturn a new Treasury Department regulation that allowed dark money groups to avoid disclosing the identity of donors.
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Anna Massoglia
✔@annalecta


BREAKING: Senate votes 50-49 to overthrow new Treasury Dept policy that no longer requires some 501(c) tax-exempt nonprofits—including politically active "dark money" groups—to disclose donor names & addresses (which already were not public under prior IRS policy) in tax returns.

444
10:01 AM - Dec 12, 2018 · Washington, DC

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11m ago13:53
The first congressional race ratings for 2020 have just been published by Cook Political Report.
It currently lists 20 tossup seats, 16 of which are held by Democrats.

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11m ago13:53
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14m ago13:50
A newly elected Tennessee congressman claimed that vaccines may cause autismat an event yesterday.
They do not.

Natalie Allison
✔@natalie_allison

NEW: Soon-to-be Congressman Mark Green, a physician, warned constituents last night vaccines may be causing autism. He says he's going to "stand on the CDC’s desk and get the real data on vaccines."https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2018/12/12/tennessee-mark-green-vaccine-autism-cdc-congressman-anti-vax/2288164002/ …

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Tennessee U.S. Rep.-elect Mark Green, a doctor, falsely claims vaccines cause autism, denies CDC...

Not only did Green express hesitation about the CDC's stance on vaccines, he said he believed the agency has "fraudulently managed" the data.
tennessean.com

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24m ago13:40
Prosecutors reach non-prosecution agreement with National Enquirer

Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York just announced that they reached a deal not to pursue charges against American Media Inc, the parent company of the National Enquirer. As part of the deal, the company admits that it paid Karen McDougal $150,000 not to speak about her affair with Trump in concert with the Trump campaign. They also admit “that its principal purpose in making the payment was to suppress the woman’s story so as it to prevent it from influencing the election.”

Adam Klasfeld
✔@KlasfeldReports

· 1h



Replying to @KlasfeldReports
Side photo of Cohen's exit. https://twitter.com/FRIED_ALIVE/status/1072907769219567621 …

Adam Klasfeld
✔@KlasfeldReports



BREAKING: @SDNYnews released a press release announcing today that "it has previously reached a non-prosecution agreement with AMI, in connection with AMI’s role in making the above-described $150,000 payment before the 2016 presidential election."

No statement from Khuzami. pic.twitter.com/jnwMI0nhD4

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10:30 AM - Dec 12, 2018
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30m ago13:34
The Democrat posting job listings on Linked In is apparently Tom Sreyer.
Ruby Cramer at Buzzfeed reports:

Tom Steyer posted a job listing on LinkedIn last week for several high-ranking positions on his potential 2020 presidential campaign, a spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.
Steyer, a San Francisco-based billionaire and the Democratic donor behind the national “Need to Impeach” effort aimed at President Donald Trump, published the job openings under an anonymous account. The listing invites “highly skilled political professionals” to apply for key roles on a “national campaign team” for a “high-profile political campaign based on the West Coast.”

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36m ago13:28
There were tourists taking in the sentencing of Michael Cohen today.

Chris Megerian
✔@ChrisMegerian





.@sic_sonja was in the courtroom today and she met a group of tourists from Alaska who attended the Michael Cohen sentencing. "It's a piece of American history," one said.

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10:27 AM - Dec 12, 2018
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49m ago13:15
Erin Durkin reports from court:
Michael Avenatti watched the proceedings from the back row and said outside after:
“Michael Cohen is neither a hero nor a patriot. He lied for months on end. Only until his back was against the wall and he faced significant prison time did he decide to quote come clean. Michael Cohen is no hero. He is no patriot. He deserves every day of the 36 month sentence he will serve. Michael Cohen was sentenced today. Donald Trump is next.”

Updated at 1.29pm EST

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1h ago13:07
With Cohen’s sentence, there are other criminal cases in American politics getting attention too.
This is the latest development from North Carolina’s voter fraud case.
View image on Twitter

Joe Bruno
✔@JoeBrunoWSOC9





BREAKING: We have obtained a photo of Mark Harris and McCrae Dowless together. The picture was taken in March at a political event in Bladen County. The person who took the photo has asked us to not identify them. #NC09 #ncpol @wsoctv

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4:55 PM - Dec 11, 2018

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1h ago12:37
Lanny Davis has put out a fuller statement
View image on Twitter

Kyle Cheney
✔@kyledcheney





COHEN rep Lanny Davis says he’s ready to talk to Congress about Trump *after* Mueller finishes his investigation, suggests there’s more to tell.

116
9:35 AM - Dec 12, 2018

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2h ago12:12
Lanny Davis, Cohen’s lawyer/advisor, is now speaking to reporters

Oliver Darcy
✔@oliverdarcy





Lanny Davis, who says he is now an adviser to Cohen after today's sentencing, says on ABC, "Michael Cohen is now released to tell the full truth. After Mr. Mueller makes his findings and issues his report, you will see more of Michael Cohen telling the truth about Donald Trump."

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9:12 AM - Dec 12, 2018
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2h ago12:09
Cohen will report to prison in March next year, giving him a few more months of freedom.

erica orden
✔@eorden

· 1h



Judge has sentenced Michael Cohen to 3 years in prison,

erica orden
✔@eorden



Judge has ordered Cohen to surrender on March 6.

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9:08 AM - Dec 12, 2018
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2h ago12:07
Cohen’s sentence is the longest so far in the Mueller probe.

Josh Dawsey
✔@jdawsey1





Michael Cohen is sentenced to three years in prison, the longest sentence yet in the Mueller/SDNY probes of Trump.

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9:07 AM - Dec 12, 2018 · Washington, DC
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2h ago12:04
Michael Cohen sentenced to three years in jail

Joshua Green(@JoshuaGreen)36 months for Cohen
December 12, 2018

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2h ago11:59
As the sentencing of Cohen continues, the judge notes that Cohen acted at Trump’s direction.

Adam Klasfeld
✔@KlasfeldReports

· 2h

Replying to @KlasfeldReports
Quoting Oliver Wendall Holmes, Pauley said of the tax-evasion charges: "Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society."

Adam Klasfeld
✔@KlasfeldReports

Pauley notes that Cohen admitted that he made the illicit hush-money payments "at the coordination with and the direction of Individual-1."

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8:55 AM - Dec 12, 2018
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2h ago11:51
Cohen has responded to Trump calling him weak in the courtroom.

Abby D. Phillip
✔@abbydphillip


Cohen letting loose on Trump: "Recently the president tweeted a statement calling me weak and it was correct but for a much different reason than he was implying. It was because time and time again I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds"

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2h ago11:49
Cohen tells the court “I have been living in a personal and mental incarceration ever since the day that I accepted the offer to work for [Trump].”

erica orden
✔@eorden


Cohen: "This may
seem hard to believe but today is one of the most meaningful days of my life. I have been living in a personal and mental incarceration ever since the day that I accepted
the offer to work for a real estate mogul whose business acumen that I deeply admired."

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2h ago11:44
Cohen: "I take full responsibility for each act"

Jennifer Jacobs
✔@JenniferJJacobs

· 2h


"After cheating the IRS for years, lying to banks and to Congress, and seeking to criminally influence the presidential election, Cohen’s decision to plead guilty--rather than seek a pardon for his manifold crimes--does not make him a hero," NY prosecutors said in court papers.

Jennifer Jacobs
✔@JenniferJJacobs

MICHAEL COHEN in court: "I take full responsibility for each act."

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8:44 AM - Dec 12, 2018
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2h ago11:44
Michael Cohen is about to address the court

MJ Lee
✔@mj_lee

· 2h
Replying to @mj_lee @eorden
Hooo boy. Petrillo: "Mr. Cohen had the misfortune to have been counsel to the president."

MJ Lee
✔@mj_lee

ALERT: Michael Cohen is about to address the court. He is standing at the podium. (via @eorden inside)

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8:43 AM - Dec 12, 2018
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2h ago11:44
Michael Cohen’s attorney is expressing his client’s wariness about a full cooperation agreement in the courtroom right now.

erica orden
✔@eorden

Petrillo says Cohen wants to cooperate but that "he’s
wary of a long-term cooperation agreement for personal reasons and because he wants both to remove himself and remove his family from the glare of the cameras."

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8:25 AM - Dec 12, 2018
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...t-live-updates

The Atlantic‏ Verified account @TheAtlantic 21m 21 minutes ago More


Michael Cohen's sentencing ended a saga that began with a dramatic FBI raid and lead him to implicate the president in criminal misconduct, writes @natashabertrand:

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