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| US President Donald Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen arrives for sentencing (AFP Photo/COREY SIPKIN) |
New York
(AFP) - US President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen delivered a
blistering attack on his ex-boss as he was sentenced to three years in prison
on Wednesday for multiple crimes including making hush payments to silence two
women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.
"I
felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds," Cohen said as he pleaded
for leniency before US District Judge William H. Pauley III in a packed
Manhattan courtroom.
An
emotional Cohen, Trump's longtime "fixer," told the court he was
taking responsibility for his personal crimes and "those implicating the
President of the United States of America."
Cohen's
lawyers had argued for no jail time after he pleaded guilty to tax evasion,
providing false statements to a bank, illegal campaign contributions and making
false statements to Congress.
But Judge
Pauley said Cohen -- as a lawyer -- "should have known better" and
sentenced him to three years in federal prison, ordering him to surrender to
custody by March 6.
"Each
of these crimes standing alone warrant considerable punishment," Pauley
said, adding that Cohen was "motivated by personal greed and
ambition."
"A
significant term of imprisonment is fully justified in this highly publicized
case to send a message," the judge said.
The charges
were brought by federal prosecutors in New York and by the office of Special
Counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who is looking into Russian
interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether any members of
Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow.
Before
Pauley passed sentence the 52-year-old Cohen addressed the court, saying it was
his devotion to Trump that caused him to choose "a path of darkness over
light."
"Today
is the day that I am getting my freedom back," he said.
"I
have been living in a personal and mental incarceration ever since the day that
I accepted the offer to work for a real estate mogul whose business acumen I
deeply admired," Cohen said.
"I now
realize there was little to admire," he said.
 |
US
President Donald Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen arrives for
sentencing
(AFP Photo/COREY SIPKIN)
|
'Dirty
deeds'
Cohen
referred to a recent tweet from Trump calling him "weak," saying his
only weakness was "blind loyalty" to his former boss.
"Time
and time again I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds rather than to
listen to my own inner voice and my moral compass," he said.
Among the
charges against Cohen was making hush money payments to silence two women
threatening to go public during the election campaign with claims they had
affairs with Trump.
Cohen told
prosecutors the payments totaling $280,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels and
former Playboy model Karen McDougal were made "in coordination with and at
the direction" of Trump -- referred to by prosecutors as
"Individual-1."
Both women
have claimed to have had sexual encounters with Trump before he was the
Republican candidate for president and prosecutors have characterized the
payments as illegal campaign contributions intended to influence the election.
"Cohen
deceived the voting public by hiding alleged facts that he believed would have
had a substantial effect on the election," prosecutors said.
Trump this
week sought to minimize the importance of the payments saying they were a
"simple private transaction" and were "wrongly" being
called campaign contributions.
"Cohen
just trying to get his sentence reduced," Trump tweeted. "WITCH
HUNT!"
There was
no immediate reaction from Trump to Cohen's sentencing.
Lied to
Congress
While
federal prosecutors said Cohen's cooperation was limited and selective, the
special counsel's office said Cohen had "gone to significant lengths"
to assist their investigation.
Last month,
Cohen acknowledged that he had lied to Congress about his contacts with Russia
during the election campaign about building a Trump Tower in Moscow and the
extent of Trump's own involvement in the negotiations.
Cohen,
wearing a dark suit with a light blue tie, arrived for the sentencing with his
wife, son and daughter, who was walking with a crutch. Other family members
were also in the audience including his 83-year-old wheelchair-bound father.
For 12
years, Cohen was vice president of The Trump Organization, the umbrella company
for Trump's real estate businesses, and one of the principal confidants of the
New York billionaire.
Investigators
raided Cohen's offices and New York home in April, seizing stacks of documents
and electronic devices.
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