Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen reaches plea deal with prosecutors: reports

 

NEW YORK: US President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, has reached a deal with federal prosecutors in New York to plead guilty to campaign finance violations, bank fraud and tax evasion, news media outlets reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.

Cohen, 51, surrendered to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), CNN said. The plea includes prison time and a substantial fine, the network said.

Cohen was to appear in federal court in Manhattan at 4 PM EDT (2000 GMT) on Tuesday, a court official told Reuters.

He agreed to the plea to save millions of dollars, protect his family, and limit his exposure, Politico said, quoting an unnamed source.

The plea bargain could increase legal risks for the president, as it raises the possibility that Cohen will provide information to US Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.

However, CNN and the New York Times said the deal did not include cooperation with federal authorities.

In another case involving a former Trump associate, his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, awaited the outcome of his trial in Alexandria, Virginia, on 18 counts of financial crimes resulting from the Mueller probe. The jury, in that case, was in its fourth day of deliberations on Tuesday.

Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion and has called the Mueller investigation a witch hunt. Russia has denied meddling in the election. US intelligence agencies have concluded Moscow interfered.

Cohen was part of Trump’s inner circle for more than a decade, working as his personal attorney at the Trump Organization and continuing to advise the president after the election. But their relationship has frayed in recent months.

 

Lanny Davis, a lawyer for Cohen, declined to comment. Cohen and another of his lawyers, Guy Petrillo, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the earlier reports.

The probe is being led by the office of US Attorney Geoffrey Berman in Manhattan.

A spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Federal agents had seized documents and files from Cohen in April that stemmed from a referral from Mueller’s office.

Cohen once said he would “take a bullet” for Trump, but their relationship has deteriorated since the FBI's April raid on Cohen’s office, hotel room, and home.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that federal prosecutors were focused on more than $20 million in loans obtained by Cohen from taxi businesses owned by him and his family.

The loans are part of the investigation into whether Cohen committed bank and tax fraud, and for possible campaign law violations linked to a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Mueller’s investigation, which began in May 2017, has resulted in the indictment of more than 30 people and five guilty pleas.