Cohen To Get “Substantial Prison Time” For “Serious” Crimes Despite Cooperation With Mueller
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Fri, 12/07/2018
It turns out that being a rat may not pay off after all.
Just a few days after Special Counsel Robert Mueller recommended as little as no prison time for Trump’s former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, who pled guilty to lying to the FBI and had agreed to cooperate with the FBI, moments ago US prosecutors issued a statement in which they announced that Michael Cohen, who infamously flipped on the president (for whom Cohen once said he “would take a bullet”) deserves “substantial prison time”, despite his cooperation.
While Flynn pled guilty to just one count, whereas Cohen had pled guilty to 8 federal crimes, what is remarkable is that despite his allegedly extensive cooperation with the Special Counsel culminating in over 70 hours of testimony, prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York recognized Cohen’s cooperation with law enforcement in “ongoing matters” but argued the seriousness of his crimes warrant a “substantial term of imprisonment.”
As a result, they do “not ask for special leniency for Cohen”, calling his lies to Congress and the people “serious”, requesting a “modest downward variance” from the applicable sentencing range which is in the range of 51-63 months, and thus recommending “a sentence of 42 months’ imprisonment.”
Here are the key sections from the Preliminary Statement:
Cohen, an attorney and businessman, committed four distinct federal crimes over a period of several years. He was motivated to do so by personal greed, and repeatedly used his power and influence for deceptive ends. Now he seeks extraordinary leniency – a sentence of no jail time – based principally on his rose-colored view of the seriousness of the crimes; his claims to a sympathetic personal history; and his provision of certain information to law enforcement. But the crimes committed by Cohen were more serious than his submission allows and were marked by a pattern of deception that permeated his professional life (and was evidently hidden from the friends and family members who wrote on his behalf).
The Rest…HERE
