- 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.
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.
- Story Daniels lawyer Michael Avenatti showed up for sentencing and said Cohen ‘deserves every day’ of his sentence.
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