Former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen has just been sentenced to 36 months in jail after pleading guilty to charges of violations of campaign finance laws, along with tax fraud and bank fraud.
“Cohen also hit with forfeiture of $500,000, restitution of $1.4 million and a fine of $50,000,” Bloomberg News reports. “As judge read sentence, Cohen closed his eyes and shook his head slightly as if in disbelief.”
“The judge notes Cohen pleaded guilty to a ‘veritable smorgasbord of fraudulent conduct’ motivated by ‘personal greed and ambition.'”
The judge began his remarks by noting, “each of these crimes is a serious offense against the United States.”
Cohen walked in to federal court just after 10 AM, with his daughter, aided by crutches, by his side.
He will have to voluntarily surrender to authorities by March 6, 2019.
Sentencing guidelines call for 51-63 months. The Southern District of New York suggested around 42 months.
“My weakness was a blind loyalty to Donald Trump,” Cohen told the judge, saying he had been a “loyal soldier” to Trump, MSNBC reported.
“I want to apologize to the people of the United States,” Cohen added.
Cohen’s attorney, asking for leniency, told the judge that Cohen had the ‘misfortune” of being Donald Trump’s attorney.
Cohen also served as the deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, despite being under federal investigation at the time. He resigned that post in June of 2018.
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