Breaking: Judge Says Cohen's Crimes Are 'Serious Offense,' Sentences Him to 3 Years in Prison
President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to nine federal charges.
Cohen, 52, appeared in a Manhattan federal courtroom, accompanied by his wife and children, for the sentencing.
Ex-Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen sentenced to 3 years in prison. https://t.co/RXQR6a1Y0D
— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) December 12, 2018
Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about his dealings with a proposed plan for a Trump Tower project in Moscow.
In August, he pleaded guilty to eight charges, including tax evasion and breaking campaign finance laws in arranging payments in the waning days of the 2016 election to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, both of whom claimed to have had affairs with Trump prior to his entry into politics.
Cohen’s affiliation with Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign became a focus of Robert Mueller, the special counsel in charge of the Russia investigation. Cohen cooperated with Mueller’s probe.
During his appearance before Judge William Pauley, Cohen said that blind loyalty to Trump led him to “choose darkness over light,” NBC reported.
“I am truly sorry and I promise I will be better,” he said.
Michael Cohen, in emotional courtroom plea for leniency, said Donald Trump made him “cover up his dirty deeds.” https://t.co/fo2S7kIHJE pic.twitter.com/SiaLDCsMRf
— ABC News (@ABC) December 12, 2018
Cohen told the judge that he took “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.”
“I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds,” he said of Trump.
Pauley thanked Cohen for his cooperation with prosecutors, but said that alone did not make up for his actions.
“Somewhere along the way Mr. Cohen appears to have lost his moral compass,” the judge said. “As a lawyer, Mr. Cohen should have known better.”
The attorney was released but was ordered to surrender to authorities on March 6.
The judge recommended that Cohen serve his time at the Otisville Federal Correctional Facility in upstate New York.
In addition to his prison time, Cohen has been ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution, according to CNN.
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