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Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, sentenced to three years in feder...

1,634 views · Published 12 December 2018 · 10:58 · Indexed 12 November 2026

Channel: USA TODAY · 2018 · News & Politics

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Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney, testifies publicly for the first time http://bit.ly/2UaIrhI
Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to a series of crimes, including campaign finance violations, tax evasion and lying to Congress.

Cohen, known for several years as Trump’s fixer in legal and business matters, has become the first member of the president’s inner circle to be sentenced to prison in a case with potential legal implications for the president. Cohen’s sentencing comes after he pleaded guilty in cases with prosecutors in the Southern District of New York and with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.

Before the sentence was imposed, Cohen said he took "full responsibility" for the crimes, "for each act that I pled guilty to: The personal ones to me and those involving the President of the United States of America."

"My own weakness was blind loyalty to the man that caused me to choose the path of darkness," said Cohen, who spoke for about 10 minutes.

He also said he felt it was his duty to cover up the president’s "dirty deeds."

Manhattan U.S.District Court Judge William Pauley walked through each of the counts against Cohen, saying "each of these crimes is a serious offense against the United States."

"Mr. Cohen pled guilty to a veritable smorgasbord of fraudulent conduct," he said.

Cohen, who once said he would take a bullet for Trump, has been cooperating with Mueller’s team, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and has provided prosecutors with a potential bounty of information about the Trump campaign's contacts with the Kremlin.

Cohen and Trump, the former real estate developer, once seemed a united team, as Trump expanded his business empire and his fame by licensing his famous name and starring in The Apprentice while Cohen took on Trump critics in legal combat.

But their relationship ruptured this year as federal prosecutors and Mueller investigated both men.

Mueller's ongoing investigation began in May 2017. The New York prosecutors executed search warrants at Cohen's office, home and hotel room last year after being referred by Mueller's team.

Cohen pleaded guilty in August to campaign finance violations, tax evasion and lying to banks.
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