Cohen’s lawyers say he deserves no prison time
NEW YORK — Attorneys for President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, say he should be spared prison for crimes he committed in an abundance of enthusiasm for his ex-boss, and they portrayed him to a judge as a hero for cooperating in a probe Trump has “regularly questioned publicly and stridently.”
The lawyers said in court papers filed in New York late Friday that Cohen, 52, has cooperated extensively with special counsel Robert Mueller and New York state investigators who brought a civil lawsuit against the Trump Organization and individuals, including Trump.
They cited the fact that he met with Mueller’s team in “seven voluntary interview meetings” that began even before he pleaded guilty on Aug. 21 to campaign finance and bank fraud, among other charges, and continued through late November.
He pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to Congress, a charge his lawyers said resulted in part from information he voluntarily provided Mueller’s team in meetings governed by a limited-use immunity agreement.
“Michael’s decision to cooperate and take full responsibility for his own conduct well reflects his personal resolve, notwithstanding past errors, to re-point his internal compass true north toward a productive, ethical and thoroughly law abiding life,” his lawyers wrote.
They say he’ll continue to cooperate, though he wants to be sentenced as scheduled on Dec. 12 so he can return to providing for his family.
Besides his cooperation with Mueller, Cohen has also provided the New York state attorney general’s office with documents “concerning a separate open inquiry,” the lawyers wrote. They said he also has provided information to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
The lawyers portrayed Cohen as courageous for cooperating in Mueller’s probe while the “investigation — and the rationale for its very existence — is regularly questioned publicly and stridently by the president of the United States.”
Cohen’s lawyers — Guy Petrillo and Amy Lester — said Cohen and his family have faced threats of physical harm, which have been referred to authorities.