Federal Prosecutors Say Michael Cohen Should Face "Substantial" Prison Term

Michael Cohen, former personal attorney to President Donald Trump, exits federal court

Federal prosecutors in New York want Michael Cohen to face a “substantial term of imprisonment” after he pleaded guilty to eight felony charges in August. The sentencing memo calls for a judge to send President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer to jail for between 51 and 63 months. 

Prosecutors said that while Cohen has asked for "extraordinary leniency," his actions and conduct has shown that he believes that he "is above the laws reflected in his crimes of conviction."

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.

The news comes just one week after Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the timeline of a proposed deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller said that Cohen's crimes were serious, and he should face consequences in a sentencing memo that released shortly after the one from federal prosecutors. Muller said that any sentence in Cohen's case should case run concurrently with the sentence in the New York federal case. 

The memo details the actions Cohen took to purchase the rights to the stories of two women who claimed to have had an affair with a figure called "Individual 1."  Trump's name isn't actually mentioned in the court papers, but it notes that Cohen worked for "Individual 1," and that "Individual 1" waged a successful campaign to become President of the United States.  The description of the women matches the allegations from porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.  The sentencing memo says, quote,  "Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual 1." 

Photo: Getty Images


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