Manafort, Cohen are in deeper legal trouble; Mueller could benefit

WASHINGTON — The trial of Paul Manafort was not about election conspiracy or presidential obstruction of justice. Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to crimes that had nothing to do with Russia’s campaign to sabotage the 2016 presidential race.

Yet the deepening legal peril for both men could have significant implications for the current investigation by the special counsel, Robert Mueller.

The cases of both men are, at the moment, tangential to the central questions of Mueller’s inquiry: whether President Donald Trump and his associates conspired with Russia’s election interference, and whether the president tried to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation into the matter. But neither Manafort nor Cohen are believed to be cooperating with the special counsel — situations that could change now that they face years in prison.

Whether either man has anything of value to offer Mueller’s investigators is another question, and experts pointed out that the legal proceedings have dealt significant damage to the credibility of both. The team for Cohen, the president’s former lawyer, at least, has signaled a willingness to provide information to the special counsel in exchange for some kind of leniency.

“Cohen has done everything but shout from the rooftops that he wants to cooperate,” said Ross Garber, a criminal defense lawyer and adjunct professor at Tulane Law School. “I expect the government is interested in what he has to say and then can evaluate whether there is any value to it.”

Cohen’s plea agreement, formalized on Tuesday afternoon in a Lower Manhattan courtroom, does not require that he cooperate with federal investigators in New