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Trump’s Former Lawyer Cohen Asks Judge to Cut His Sentence

Trump Ex- Lawyer Michael Cohen Asks Judge to Reduce His Sentence

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer Michael Cohen asked a federal judge to cut his three-year prison sentence for the “substantial assistance” he provided to Congress and prosecutors.

Cohen was also the president’s former personal fixer who bullied Trump’s enemies and was an intimate witness to his business dealings. He pleaded guilty to financial fraud and lying to Congress after coming under scrutiny by federal prosecutors in New York.

In court documents filed Wednesday, Cohen’s lawyers cited his cooperation with the government and his time as “a model inmate” at a federal prison camp in Otisville, New York, where he’s been jailed since May 9. They urged U.S. District Judge William Pauley to take a “second look” at Cohen’s sentence.

Trump’s Former Lawyer Cohen Asks Judge to Cut His Sentence

Cohen spent more than 400 hours assisting Congress and prosecutors before reporting to prison, his lawyer, Lanny Davis, said. Cohen asked U.S. District Judge Richard Berman for a “modest reduction” of the sentence to one year and a day or at least allow him to serve the rest of his term confined to his home.

Cohen, 53, is due to be released Dec. 13, 2021, although he could get out sooner if he gets credit for good behavior, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Cohen, who had arranged to pay a porn star who claimed she had sex with Trump before he became president to keep quiet, should get credit for “telling the truth about Trump’s wrongdoing,” Davis said.

Davis argued that Attorney General William Barr’s Justice Department didn’t act in good faith because it didn’t meet with Cohen after he reported to prison. Cohen would like a hearing before the judge to explore the Justice Department’s motivations, according to Davis.

The case is U.S. v. Cohen, 18-cr-00602, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporters on this story: Bob Van Voris in federal court in Manhattan at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net;Chris Dolmetsch in Federal Court in Manhattan at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider, Anthony Lin

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