Weeping Michael Cohen gets 3 years in prison... -

‘I took a path of darkness instead of light’: President’s former lawyer Michael Cohen tearfully lays the blame for his fraud and lies on ‘blind loyalty’ to cover up the ‘dirty deeds’ of Trump, as he is jailed for THREE YEARS

Cohen wept in federal court in Manhattan as he faced sentencing on nine criminal charges
He must report to jail in upstate New York on March 6
A tearful Cohen pushed back at President Trump for calling him ‘weak’
His lawyer repeatedly invoked Trump while arguing against a long sentence
He went to court Wednesday morning accompanied by his wife and children
The Southern District of New York in a court filing said he deserved a ‘substantial’ sentence and proposed he face up to five years in jail
Special Counsel Mueller’s team noted his cooperation with the Russia probe
He pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress about his 2016 pursuit of a Trump tower deal in Moscow and contacts with Russians about it
Also pleaded guilty to campaign finance and bank fraud related to $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels
Testified he was ‘directed’ by Donald Trump to make payment to Daniels
Cohen once said he would ‘take a bullet’ for Trump but ended up cooperating facing jail time and massive legal fees
- Story Daniels lawyer Michael Avenatti showed up for sentencing and said Cohen ‘deserves every day’ of his sentence.
  A federal judge on Thursday sentenced longtime Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to three years in jail for a series of crimes to which he pleaded guilty, saying his cooperation with the Russia probe ‘does not wipe the slate clean.’
  As an attorney, Cohen ‘should have known better,’ said the judge, following dramatic courtroom arguments that featured repeated references to President Trump – including his attacks on Cohen as ‘weak’ and a ‘rat’ and Cohen’s own explanation of what it took to provide information against him.
  Cohen shed tears in the courtroom as he sought leniency and reflected on decisions in his life that he now regrets – including his own ‘blind loyalty’ to Trump, a man who helped make him rich and later ‘directed’ him to engage in one of the crimes he pleaded guilty to committing.
  Cohen won’t have to report to jail until March 6, and could still get a further discount to his time if he cooperates
  An anguished Cohen pleaded with a Judge William Pauley to be able to stay out of jail, and expressed regret for trying to cover up Trump’s ‘dirty deeds.’
  The former right-hand man to the man who became president also will have to hand over to the government nearly $2 million in combined restitution and fines, having dodged taxes while assembling real estate and taxi business holdings as a top hand to the Trump Organization.
  He must report to the federal prison in Otisville, New York, which has a medium security prison as well as a minimum security satellite camp and which caters to many Jewish inmates from New York City and those with Kosher needs.
  The tearful longtime Donald Trump lawyer took on Trump – who he once said he would ‘take a bullet for’ – in emotional terms for having called him ‘weak’ in an attack last month
  ‘Recently the president tweeted a statement calling me weak and it was correct, but for a much different reason than he was implying,’ Cohen told a federal judge in open court. ‘It was because time and time again I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds,’ Cohen said.
  He blasted President Trump for ‘calling me a rat,’ and criticized his longtime employer for trying to sway a proceeding that could in fact ‘implicate’ him.
  ‘I will continue to cooperate’ with investigators, Cohen pledged.
  But after the judge handed down the sentence, Cohen walked past reporters outside the federal courthouse and entered a vehicle without comment.
  Cohen headed to federal court in New York Wednesday to face sentencing after prosecutors in New York recommended he get ‘substantial’ jail time – as his attorney lauded his willingness to testify against the president.
  Cohen and lawyer Guy Petrillo argued for a reduced sentenced due to his cooperation with the Mueller probe
Ashen-faced: Michael Cohen’s wife Laura, daughter Samantha and son Jake left the court before their father and looked shocked at his three-year term, which begins in March
Michael Cohen’s weepy statements in court
I stand before your honor humbly and painfully aware that we are here for one reason.
I take full responsibility for each act that I pled guilty to The personal ones to me and those involving the President of the United States of America.
This may seem hard to believe, but today is one of the most meaningful days of my life.
I have been living in 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. In fact, I now know there is little to admire.
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.
I blame myself for the conduct which has brought me here today and it was my own weakness and a blind loyalty to this man that led me to choose a path of darkness over light.
Seeing the unbearable pain that my associations and my actions have brought to my entire family – this is why I did not enter into a cooperation agreement.
I do not need a cooperation agreement in place to do the right thing. I will continue to cooperate.
I want to apologize to the people of the United States. You deserve to know the truth and lying to you was unjust.
I am committed to proving my integrity and making sure history will not remember me as the villain in his story.
I’m truly sorry and I promise I will be better.
In a courtroom plea for leniency, Cohen’s lawyer, Guy Petrillo, described his client as a brave witness who came forward with evidence ‘against the most powerful person in our country’ – and tried to draw a contrast with former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, who prosecutors say committed ‘lies’ despite agreeing to cooperate.
He did so without being able to ‘anticipate the full measure of attack that would be made against him,’ his lawyer argued.
Petrillo called it a ‘profound contrast’ with others who decided to allegedly ‘double deal,’ CNN reported.
‘He knew that the president might shut down the investigation,’ Petrillo said, Courthouse News reported.
His lawyers also pushed back at SDNY, which in its sentencing memo pointed out that Cohen never reached a cooperation agreement.

Michael Cohen’s weepy statements in court